Sacred Sites in Jerusalem Trivia Quiz

This mosque on Temple Mount is the oldest example in the world of Islamic architecture, and its gold-plated dome makes it a prominent feature of the city's skyline. It was built on the site of Solomon's Temple, which was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE, and of the Second Temple, also known as Herod's Temple, which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. When this mosque was constructed near the end of the 7th century CE, the site was chosen to mark the site as significant for all three Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam). At its centre is the Foundation Stone, which Jewish tradition holds as the place where the world's creation originated, and where the Ark of the Covenant was kept during the time of Solomon's Temple.

Later on, Quran commentators came to the conclusion that Temple Mount was the place where the prophet Muhammed began his Night Journey (Mi'raj) during the course of which he was escorted by the angel Gabriel, and instructed by seven prophets (Adam, John the Baptist, Jesus, Joseph (the Old Testament prophet), Idris (probably Enoch), Aaron, Moses and Abraham) before meeting God. Different groups of Muslims have different attitudes to this event - some considering that there was a physical journey, others that it was an out-of-body experience he described - but all celebrate it as a significant milestone in his life, and the reason why many see Jerusalem as the third most important city for members of their faith.

Temple Mount itself is located on a plateau on the eastern side of the Old City. It was artificially expanded by Herod the Great, who enclosed it in retaining walls and filled in the lower portions to make a large (roughly 150,000 sq m, or 37 acres) trapezoidal platform. It is located in the old City of Jerusalem, which was allocated to East Jerusalem following Israel's War of Independence. This was the part of the city administered by Jordan in the 1949 Armistice Agreement following Israel's declaration of independence in 1948 (and subsequent warfare). It was reclaimed by Israel following the Six-Day War in 1967, and remains a significant point of contention, as many consider it should be made the capital of a state of Palestine, returning to Arab control along with the nearby regions which already have significant Arab populations.

As the name suggests, this is part of the western retaining wall for the Temple Mount. Restricted access to Temple Mount means this is the closest that Jews are able to get to the site of the Holy of Holies, the site where the Ark of the Covenant (containing the Ten Commandments) was located. This actual site is disputed, as historical records are imprecise and the Temple Mount has changed over the ages, but it is pretty much agreed that it is somewhere under there.

Due to the Jewish tradition of coming to this wall to express the pain still felt at the destruction of the Second Temple (on the other side of the wall, where the Dome of the Rock is currently located) and the loss of freedom and sovereignty that represents, Arabs describe it as el-Mabka, meaning Wall of Weeping. This name, modified into Wailing Wall, came into widespread use in English during the 19th century, but most Jews find it derogatory, and prefer to have it called the Western Wall. The contemporary Arabic name is Al-Buraq, referring to the donkey (Buraq) that Muhammad is said to have tethered to the other side of the wall, after he rode it to Jerusalem in preparation for his Night Journey.

The Mount of Olives (also called Mount Olivet) is located on a ridge just outside the Old City, on its eastern side. As the name indicates, it was once covered with olive trees. Its slopes have been used as a Jewish cemetery for over 3,000 years, a popular spot because of the tradition (based on Zechariah 14:4) that the resurrection of the dead that will occur after the Messiah arrives will start there.

The Mount of Olives became the site for observance of Sukkot after the destruction of the Second Temple made a visit to it impossible. Its elevation allowed them to look down on the site, even if they could not go there.

The New Testament of the Bible has multiple references to the Mount of Olives, including it as one of the sites where Jesus preached to his disciples (not the Sermon on the Mount, which was probably delivered near the Sea of Galilee) as described in the Gospel of Matthew. It is a message about impending troubles, although the timing of the apocalyptic events is more than a little unclear, and some consider it to have been fulfilled when Jerusalem was conquered and the Second Temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE, about forty years later.

According to Acts 1:9-12, it was from the Mount of Olives that Jesus ascended into Heaven following his resurrection.

There are several small gardens at the foot of the Mount of Olives that may have been the one referred to in the Biblical accounts of Jesus' last days. Each of them is on the grounds of a church: the Roman Catholic Church of All Nations, the Eastern Orthodox Tomb of the Virgin Mary, the Russian Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalene, and another Greek Orthodox church located further east than the other three. Due to the vagueness of the written records, all four of them are possible.

Jesus and his disciples frequently met in a garden there, and according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus went there with Peter, John and James after the meal designated as the Last Supper, to pray and prepare for his coming betrayal. It was there that Judas Iscariot is recorded as having led the Roman soldiers to arrest him. This is the start of the end of Jesus' ministry, and the site is considered by Roman Catholics to be the First Station of the Cross. These stations are spots designated as being places where the faithful may take time to contemplate the events relating to his death and resurrection. They allow worshippers around the world to mentally follow the journey of Christ in his last hours.

The Lions' Gate, so called because of the felines (generally considered to be leopards, despite the name) carved on each side of its upper portion, is one of the seven open gates in the wall built around the city by Suleiman the Magnificent between 1533 and 1540. The 'lions' (or whatever big cat they may be) were carved to celebrate an Ottoman victory over the Mamlukes. The gate is on the northern part of the eastern wall, leading into the Muslim section of the city.

This gate, also called St Stephen's Gate, is considered by Christians to be the entry point to city of the path that Jesus followed on his way from prison to his crucifixion. Pilgrims who plan to follow that path start here.

It was through this gate that Israeli troops entered the city during the 1967 Six-Day War that led to their occupation of East Jerusalem and the West Bank of the Jordan River.

The Via Dolorosa is not a single spot, but a path through the Old City that covers Jesus' journey to his crucifixion. Hence the name, which means Sorrowful Way. Along the way there are markers such as the one shown to indicate a spot where some event of that journey, as recorded either in the Gospels or in Christian tradition, occurred. It starts at the site of the former Antonia Fortress (which may or may not have been to site from which Pontius Pilate sent him to be crucified, and is currently an Islamic elementary school) and proceeds past the Lions' Gate, then winds through the city streets to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, believed to be built over the site of Jesus' crucifixion and the tomb where he was subsequently resurrected.

The Stations of the Cross, symbols for contemplation and prayer found in Catholic and Orthodox churches around the world, are placed at appropriate spots along the Via Dolorosa, where the event is supposed to have occurred. The image used for this quiz shows Station 3: Jesus Falls for the First Time, located on the wall of a Polish Catholic chapel. The last five stations, relating to the actual crucifixion, are located inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

According to tradition dating back to the 4th century, this church is built on the site where Jesus was crucified and where his tomb was located. At the time, it was located outside the city walls, but with expansion, it is now inside them. If you are following the Via Dolorosa, the last five Stations of the Cross are found within the temple complex.

It is one of nine buildings in Jerusalem and Bethlehem which are subject to a 'status quo' decree promulgated in the 18th century when the Ottomans controlled the area. This edict was intended to settle the arguments between various Christian denominations (Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Armenian, Syriac Orthodox, Coptic Christians and Ethiopians) over who should control the various sites, and stop the fighting over sacred sites by having whoever was in control at that time maintain it. All six groups have responsibility for different parts of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, with no one group controlling the main door.

One interesting feature of the decree was that no unilateral changes were to be accepted - everyone had to agree to any change. The ongoing divisions are symbolised by a ladder on a ledge outside one of the church's windows, which has been there since 1728. It was used by Armenian monks living inside the church (to avoid the entry taxes) to emerge and get some fresh air on the ledge. Following the 'status quo' decree, nobody can move it unless the leaders of all six groups agree.

This mosque is found directly opposite the southern courtyard of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and is not open for tourists. It commemorates an event in the 7th century, when Islamic forces conquered Jerusalem, ending around 500 years of Roman rule. Caliph Omar allowed Jews to return, and granted Christians civil and religious rights (for a fee). During his visit to negotiate these terms, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Sophronius, met with him several times. At one of these meetings Sophronius invited Omar to enter the church to perform the scheduled prayer ritual. Omar chose not to do so, since it might have been used as a pretext to declare the Church as a Muslim place of prayer rather than a Christian one, so he performed his prayers on the steps in front of the church entrance. Later a mosque was built on that site, providing a Muslim place of worship within the Christian sector.

When the entrance to the church moved from the eastern side to the southern side, a new mosque was constructed there. The current one was built in 1193.

Mount Zion is a hill located just outside the walls of the Old City. At times the term has been used to refer to several different locations. First was a fortified city on the slopes of the Eastern Hill, also called the City of David, which is thought to have been the original stating site of Jerusalem. When the First Temple was built at the top of the Eastern Hill (the area now known as Temple Mount), the name of Zion moved there. During the 1st century CE the designation changed to the Western Hill, as its extra height made it the more imposing location for the special site.

Mount Zion is the location of a number of tourist attractions, including the Room of the Last Supper, the Dormition Abbey (where Mary the mother of Jesus is said to have died, and King David's Tomb (not currently thought to be the actual site), located underneath the Room of the Last Supper.

Mount Zion is the site of a number of cemeteries. In the Catholic cemetery you can visit the grave of Oskar Schindler, who was decreed a Righteous Gentile for his actions saving the lives of over 1,000 Jews during the Holocaust. The Protestant cemetery, located on the southwestern slope, includes the graves of a number of British soldiers from World War I, members of the Palestine Police who dies in service during the British mandate of Palestine, and some of those who died in the 1946 bombing of the King David Hotel.

Israel's first Holocaust Museum was located on Mount Zion, and the Chamber of the Holocaust can still be visited there. In 1953 Yad Vashem was established on the Mount of Remembrance, the western side of Mount Herzl, where Israel's National Cemetery is located. The 45-acre complex includes areas where the Holocaust is studied forensically by experts as well as museum areas designed to educate the public.

Pictured is part of the Hall of Names, a memorial to the 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust. This cone contains pictures of about 600 of the victims, along with Pages of Testimony describing others for whom there are no photographs. Underneath this cone is an inverted underground cone filled with water, which reflect the images above it as tribute to the nameless ones not recorded.

Yad Vashem also pays tribute to the Righteous Among Nations, non-Jews who risked their lives to rescue Jews. Their names are posted on plaques in the Garden of the Righteous which can be seen on the trees there, most dramatically the 2,000 trees forming the Avenue of the Righteous.