Around the World in 180 Days with D and N: Jerusalem: the Mount of Olives and the Via Dolorosa

I'm going to add some additional notes and photos of Jerusalem as I find time:

We took a bus from East Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives. There are some wonderful views of the city from its slopes, but a fair amount of commercialism also. You can get your photo taken on a camel or pose with a donkey, have multiple opportunities to buy items from street hawkers, or hire a guide. We arrived at the Pater Noster Chapel, the site from which Jesus is reputed to have ascended into Heaven, and found it closed. A large tour group then arrived and the chapel was opened to them, so we joined the group. The chapel contains a stone which supposedly has the imprint of Jesus right foot, so the other tourists lined up to touch and kiss the stone.

That afternoon, after some coffee and wonderful sacher torte at the Austrian Hospice in the Muslim Quarter, we joined the weekly Franciscan led procession along the Via Dolorosa, stopping at each of the 14 Stations of the Cross. At each station, the relevant biblical passages were read by the friars in 8 different languages, starting with Latin. The other pilgrims sang and said the rosary as we followed along. We were at something of a disadvantage in fully participating, but it was a very interesting experience.