Israel
Qumran
The contents of the Dead Sea Scrolls, along with archaeological evidence and supporting historical texts, have led scholars to conclude that Qumran was inhabited by a sectarian religious community sometimes referred to as the Dead Sea Sect or “Hayachad” (together) sect. Many scholars believe that this sect was in fact a community of highly ritualistic Jews called the Essenes.
Mt Olives
Jesus’ third visit during the week of His passion was on the night He was betrayed. That evening began with the Last Supper in Jerusalem and ended in the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. During that last Passover meal, Jesus washed His disciples’ feet and then revealed Judas as the betrayer (John 13:1–30). At the conclusion of the meal, Jesus established the New Covenant and instituted the Lord’s Supper (Matthew 26:26–29; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26). Then He took His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane (literally, “Garden of the Oil-press”) located on the western slope of the Mount of Olives. There Jesus prayed in agony as He contemplated the day to come. So overcome by the horror of what He was to experience in the crucifixion the following day that His sweat was “like drops of blood” (Luke 22:44) and God sent an angel from heaven to strengthen Him (Luke 22:43).
Mt Olives
It is named for the olive groves that once covered its slopes. The southern part of the Mount was the Silwan necropolis, attributed to the ancient Judean kingdom. The Mount has been used as a Jewish cemetery for over 3,000 years and holds approximately 150,000 graves, making it central in the tradition of Jewish cemeteries. Several key events in the life of Jesus, as related in the Gospels, took place on the Mount of Olives, and in the Acts of the Apostles it is described as the place from which Jesus ascended to heaven.
Golden Gate
The final sealing shut of the gate as completed by Suleiman is said to have been a defensive move by the sultan. As derived from the Jewish literature, the gate is said to be the point at which the Jewish Messiah will enter the city of Jerusalem, and therefore, in order to prevent this from occurring, the sultan sealed the gate.
Western Wall
The holiest place in Judaism is the Temple Mount where the Second Temple stood until it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E.
The custom of inserting written prayers into the Kotel's cracks is so widespread that some American-Jewish newspapers carry advertisements for services that insert such prayers on behalf of sick Jews. The mystical qualities associated with the Kotel are underscored in a popular Israeli song, a refrain of which runs: “There are people with hearts of stone, and stones with hearts of people.” A rabbi in Jerusalem once told me that the Hebrew expression “The walls have ears” was originally said about the Western Wall.
Cardo Maximus
The central street of the Cardo is 40 feet (12 m) wide and is lined on both sides with columns. The total width of the street and shopping areas on either side is 70 feet (22 m), the equivalent of a 4-lane highway today.
At one time the Cardo would have run the whole breadth of the city, up to what’s now Damascus Gate, but in its present form it starts just south of David St, the tourist souq, serving as the main entry into the Jewish Quarter from the Muslim and Christian areas. There are wells to allow visitors to see down to the levels beneath the street, where there are strata of a wall from the days of the First Temple and the Second Temple.