Sunrise over the Mount of Olives on our first day in Jerusalem, the view from my hotel window.

After a short bus ride we were actually on top of the Mount of Olives, overlooking the Kidron Valley and the Old City of Jerusalem.

We walked down the path to the church known as Dominus Flevit (“The Lord wept”) with its iconic view of the Dome of the Rock.

Zooming in on the Dome of the Rock, the steeple of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer on the left and the domes of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on the right.

A monk at Dominus Flevit.

We walked on down further past the many graves in the Jewish cemetery.

The Garden of Gethsemane with its ancient olive trees.

Then we entered St. Stephens Gate and walked the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Along the way we passed many shops in the Suq, some filled with exotic spices.

The church of the Holy Sepulchre and a monk inside.

The church was first consecrated in 335 AD, destroyed and rebuilt several times after that. This is the Katholikon, the central worship space.

On the left is a photo of the edicule, the structure covering the traditional tomb of Jesus, which was just reconstructed in the past year, allowing the first view of the tomb structure since around 1550. Then we took a break for lunch and coffee at a nearby restaurant.

3 businessmen take a break also.

Then we drove the Herodion, a mountain top fortress built by King Herod, just outside of Bethlehem. Here excavators believe they have found the tomb of Herod the Great.

The model in the foreground shows how Herodion once looked. A ring found in this area in 1961 was just identified with Pontius Pilate’s name inscribed on it.

Then we stopped at the Shepherd’s fields in Bethlehem.

We were joined by what looked like an official delegation from Ethiopia.

We ended the day at a gift shop in Bethlehem, filled with olive wood carvings.