Gethsemane Garden on the Mount of OlivesThe garden of Gethsemane is located at the lower part of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. It is considered a sacred place in Christianity, since this is the place in which Jesus spent the last night before his crucifixion – and after having the Last Supper. The word is derived from the Aramaic and Hebrew Gat Shemanim which simply means oil press. And indeed there are plenty of (very old) olive trees in the garden – out of which you can prepare olive oil – which has been the oil of choice in the area for thousands of years. The olive trees in the garden are probably hundreds of years old and it is likely that those were shoots from the trees that were there during the time of Jesus.
Old olive tree at the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem. picture by Lyng. The garden has been a pilgrimage site for about 1700 years. It is right next to the Church of All Nations also known as the Basilica of Agony. Not too far and also on the Mount of Olives is the Russian church of St. Mary Magdalena and the Dominus Flevit.
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