Israel Day 6/11- Garden of Gethsemane

The name means "oil press" in Hebrew and oil is still pressed from the eight very old olive trees in the garden. Some say the trees could be 2000 years old, but tests have shown them to not be from the time of Christ.

The Garden is where Jesus went to pray after His Last Supper with His disciples.  A large church, built in 1924, is the third church to be built on the site where Jesus prayed.

It is called the Church of All Nations because 12 different countries contributed to its construction, and each has its own dome.

This is believed to be the rock Jesus prayed on

when He sweated blood

When we went outside of the church the bells in the garden began ringing...

Then we headed to the Tomb of Mary...

Although there are also traditional burial places for Mary, the mother of Jesus, in Turkey, most of Christendom believe this grotto is the site. 

Near the entrance is another grotto, the Grotto of Gethsemane. This is where Jesus disciples slept while He went off to pray...

The entry goes down 50 stairs to a church carved out of solid rock...

The church is jointly overseen by the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem and the Armenian Apostolic Church of Jerusalem and the aesthetic shows it...

the small entry to where the stone bench

believed to have had Mary's body laid

Wonder where this door goes???