Day 4: Mount of Olives...

The Mount of Olives was named for the olive groves that once covered the slopes of this mountain range of three peaks (the tallest at 2,683 feet). For over 2,500 years, this area has been used as a Jewish cemetery with the belief that when the Messiah comes, the resurrection of the dead will begin here. Today there is an estimated 150,000 graves. Orthodox Jews are never cremated; here they are still buried without a coffin in a cement tomb covered by a shroud. Rather than flowers, small stones are placed on the gravestone to show that someone has visited the grave.

We walked down the dramatic hill to the Church of All Nations where we saw 1,500-year-old olive trees. The modern church, built on the foundation of two earlier churches, includes a section of rock where Jesus is said to have prayed before his arrest. After our visit, Batya called Benny to pick us up; he did one of his famous moves by whipping the mini-bus past the crowds, throwing open the door and whisking us off like rock stars.