Around the Old City Mount Zion

This hill stands outside the city walls opposite Zion Gate and the Armenian Quarter. At various times since the Second Temple era, however, Mt. Zion (Har Tzion) has been enclosed by the walls. The mount has long been considered the site of the Tomb of David (though recent archeological evidence suggests otherwise), the Last Supper, and the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The name Zion, which is also applied to Israel as a whole, is thought to be derived from the Jebusite fortress called Zion, which was first seized by King David when he conquered the territory to the east.

During the siege of the Jewish Quarter in 1948, the area around Zion Gate was the scene of some of the fiercest fighting in Jerusalem, as the Hagana tried to break in and end the attack. Vestiges of fighting include the bombshell-pocked gate. Egged buses #1 and 38 run between Mt. Zion and Jaffa Gate (#1 goes through Mea She’arim to the central bus station; #38 goes to the center of town). To reach the sights on the Mount, leave the Old City through Zion Gate or approach Zion Gate from either Jaffa or Dung Gates. Turn left coming out of Zion Gate and follow the wall around, forking right at the convent. At the next fork, take a left.