Two hundred meters west of St. Stephen’s Gate, a ramp leads to the courtyard of e Al-Omariyeh College, one site identified as the first station, where Jesus was condemned (closed l-3pm). Opposite the school from the Via Dolorosa, enter the Franciscan monastery; to your left is the Condemnation Chapel, the second sta-tion, where Jesus was sentenced to crucifixion. On the right is the Chapel of Flagellation where he was first flogged by Roman soldiers. A crown of thorns adonis the dome and mobs clamor at the windows of Hit’ chapel. (Open daily Sam-nootj and 2-6pm; winter, 8am-noon and l-5pm.)

Continuing along the Via Dolorosa, you pass beneath the Ecce Homo Arch where Pilate looked down upon a scourged Jesus and cried ‘Behold the Man.” The arch is actually a pan of the triumphal arch that commemorates Emperor Hadrian’s suppression of the Bar Kokhba revolt in the 2nd century. (Open Mon.-Sat. 8:30am-12:30pm and 24pm.) Adjacent lies the Convent of the Sisters of Zion, beneath which excavations have cleared a large chamber thought by some to be the judgment hall, which would make it the first station. The convent is closed to the public; the excavations are not. To get to the excavations, walk down the Via Dolorosa from the second station and turn right on Aqabat ar-Rahbat St. Knock on the brown door on your left. (Open Mon.-Sat. 8:30am-12:30pm and 2-4:3Opm. Admission NIS2.50.)