The rumoured best view of Jerusalem

After leaving Temple Mount from Lions Gate, I continued my journey at steep climbs. Yes, I decided to walk my way up to Mount of Olives to see the rumoured best view of Jerusalem. I had to see if it was said to be that good. The locals told me it's best to see it at sunset, but because of my tight itinerary, I had to do it straight after Dome of Rock while it was still early in the morning.  At that time, I totally felt like exercising, so instead of taking the public transport up there, by foot was the best way to go.

As I was venturing out from the Gate, trying to read the map I got from information centre before, a Holland couple came up to me and asked me for directions to Mount of Olives.  Since I wasn't too sure of the way either, I invited them to join me in my little navigation adventure. I told them I was looking to get up there too and was happy to have accompany if they don't mind walking extra miles if we were to get lost. Without hesitation, they agreed to team up and next minute we were chatting our way while puffing and climbing the hundreds of stairs to the top of Mount of Olives. 

Before reaching these stairs, we had to cross some busy windy roads with great views of the Old City from a different side. 

breathtaking view of the Old City as we walked our way towards Mt of Olives

windy roads toward Mt of Olives

Mt of Olives view with many beautiful Pine trees

This was the road leading up to many stairs to the top of  Mt of Olives

On our way up we stopped at one of the sanctuary, inside there was an Olive tree farm. The Olive trees were lined up in rows, and they must have been there for many years, as their trunks were wide and wrinkly. Sorry, I'm no tree expert but these trees looked like they've been standing there for a while.

Olive tree farm inside the Sanctuary

Olive tree close up

I couldn't remember how long it took us to reached the top as we got carried away with chatting. But it was definitely not an easy one, we had to stop for two breathers as there were just stairs after stairs and more stairs until we saw a wide road at a T-junction with couple of tourist buses and taxis parked along side the kerb. We knew that was the end of the steep hike, so we made a right turn and there we were, breathtaking view of Jerusalem from Mt of Olives. So the locals were right, the view was not to be missed, and I can imagine how beautiful it would look under sunset.

panorama view of Jerusalem

panorama view of Jerusalem 2

panorama view of Jerusalem 3

As we were stepping out from the stairs, people were starring at us, they must be thinking where did these people came from? Don't tell me they walked all the way up?!!?? haha oh ye, we walked all the way up. There were handrails running along the sides of the road, and it was packed with tourist groups. So I said good bye to the Holland couple and I continued with my journey. The good thing with travelling alone is you get the choose where you want to go without negotiating with anyone, and you can easily squeezed through any crowds without getting worried about loosing your buddies. As I was walking along the side walk, I tried to find a best spot to take a rest and to intake this amazing view of Jerusalem. Bear in mind, this hill is part of the cemetery , so there were graves just below the handrails.

just realised there were graves in the background

one of the oldest Judaism Cemetery in the world

Police station at Mt of Olives

And I had to say I was so proud of myself for walking so far, from where I was standing I could see the glittering gold dome a far. Yep, the Dome of the Rock, and I wondered how I made it this far.

donkey and bedouin busking for money

breathtaking view overlooking Jerusalem

Ok, so it was not a myth, the lookout point on Mount of Olives was definitely one of the best in the world and the view was definitely worth the energy and the hike. And there were couple of places for visiting on the way, so if you considered to go next time, why not go there by foot?

Sunrise at The Dome of The Rock

I have been looking forward to go since I got into Jerusalem, the mysterious golden Dome shining and glittering under sunlight captured my eyes, and I was pretty sure no one would have missed that if you were traveling from the border, as you were most likely to get a first glimpse at it on your way either in the taxi that you caught or the mini yellow van. It was located not far from Western Wall and was visible once you entered into Jewish quarter.

Because The Dome of the Rock had specific hours, I got up early that morning at 6am, had breakfast and set foot towards the site. It was around 20minute walk from Notre Dame Hotel that I stayed in but it shouldn't have taken that long as I got lost in the Muslim quarter after I entered via Jaffa gate and made my way through David Street. There was a security checkpoint and x ray as usual and while I was there, the queue was a short one with only one Japanese tour group in front of me. I sort of morphed into this tour group because in a foreigner eyes they couldn't really tell the difference between which part of Asia you were from. Anyway, passing through checkpoint was a breeze as usual with my speedy action of opening up my bag beforehand, putting all metal made objects aside, no phones coins in pocket as usual and of course a big smile on the face and greeted the guard with "Shalom".

heavily armed police on patrol

Once I passed through the checkpoint you would think the Dome of Rock would be right in front of your face, but no, there was this overhead bridge that everyone must passed through before you get to Temple Mount where Dome of the Rock was located. 

view from the bridge

According to Islamic tradition, the rock is the spot from which Muhammad ascended to Heaven accompanied by the angel Gabriel. It is located on Temple Mount which is sacred to many people and religions. An American write Mark Twain once wrote:

Temple Mount area

Every where about the Mosque of Omar are portions of pillars, curiously wrought altars, and fragments of elegantly carved marble – precious remains of Solomon’s Temple. These have been dug from all depths in the soil and rubbish of Mount Moriah, and the Muslims have always shown a disposition to preserve them with the utmost care. The outer side walls are made of porcelain[6] and mirror the octagonal design. They each measure approximately 60 feet (18 m) wide and 36 feet (11 m) high. Both the dome and the exterior walls contain many windows.

After entering into the area of Temple Mount, my first glance at the Dome of the Rock took my breath away.  It has to be one of the most beautiful mosque in the world, especially during the time of the day I was there with the morning sunlight shinning into the golden surface of the dome. The whole Temple Mount area was huge, with another mosque adjacent to it and standing were many roman arches with Old city of Jerusalem and Mt of Olives as the background.

The rock itself can only be viewed by Muslims, so I wasn't allowed to go inside. The outside, however was spectacular, and an amazing piece of architecture, especially considering it was built in 691. It was one of the most important buildings and sacred sites in Islam, and architecture had followed traditional geometry beautifully, and some scholars have said that the dome itself was intended as competition to Christian domes. 

I was also blessed that day, because the weather was not too cold even though it's early in the morning with clear blue sky which makes the whole site even more picturesque as you can see with the many photos I posted up in this blog. 

inside the courtyard of Temple Mount

Dome of the Rock standing in the near distance

Mosque adjacent to Dome of the Rock

Some Muslims gathering together in the early morning

such a tranquil morning to visit this historical site

outdoor prayer area

the magnificent Dome of the Rock

 

 

There were also many pigeons flying around while I was there, and surrounding trees were also swaying right and left against the morning light breeze. 

panorama view of the Temple Mount area

It was a big area to walk around, and I did take my time to admire the delicate tile work on the exterior of the mosque. As you can see from my photos here, The Dome of the Rock is made of marble and richly decorated with tile, mosaics, gilded wood, and painted stucco. According to history records, the builders and artisans came from many different regions and incorporated their individual techniques and styles into the final design. The dome is also made of gold and stretches 20 meters in diameter. 

the adjacent structure also has amazing craftsmanship inside out

Stunning marble and bronze works on the exterior

very nice door handle on the big bronze door

By the time I finished checking out all the structures on Temple Mount, it was around 9:30am. That's the good thing about starting the day early, because it left me plenty of time still to continue with the rest of my itinerary.

bye bye Dome of the Rock

On my way to Lions Gate as I exit the Temple Mount site and can still see the Dazzling Golden Dome in a distance

exit at Lions Gate