Jewish Cemetery on Mount of Olives - Jerusalem
In Jerusalem, on the upper slopes of the Mount of Olives, there are the Jewish graves in cemetery. Close to the Kidron Valley, in the middle, there are the Christian graves and beside the city wall, lies the Bab al-Rahma ( a Muslim cemetery). The tombs of Absalom and Zachariah can also be visited in the Kidron Valley,. The old Jewish cemetery sprawled over the slopes of the Mount of Olives overlooking the Kidron Valley (Valley of Jehoshaphat), radiating out from the lower, ancient part, which preserved Jewish graves from the second Temple Period.
It is estimated that around 70,000 graves are dotted on this mountain. Few graves have a crown sign on them, it might suggest that they belonged to a ruling elite. The cemetery was quite close to the Old City, its chief merit being that it overlooked the Temple Mount. According to Jewish tradition, it was here that the Resurrection of the Dead would begin.
In the Middle Ages, the Jews of the city were buried on the eastern slopes of the Temple Mount. Later the cemetery spread along the Kidron Valley and to its east, to the foot of the Mount of Olives. Some of the graves are dug up but no one was buried there. I heard from the locals that it was very expensive to bury there and some families buy land in well advance.
In one part of the cemetery, I could see the Muslim neighbourhood of East Jerusalem with a spy balloon above the area. When I was visiting the upper parts of the mountain, I saw a guy who took few stones from the cemetery and put in his pocket as a souvenir.
