It is a amazing small beautiful garden. I think all believers and non believers will find the special feeling this place is. Not only for Protestants. To go into the cave where Jesus was is just ... You have to find it out by yourself. Finding your peace in this place.
The Garden Tomb
In the 19th century, scholars began to challenge the Christian tradition that put the site of Jesus’s burial and resurrection at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Old City’s Christian Quarter. Many Protestants also had their doubts – in large part because the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was the site sanctioned by the Roman Catholic establishment.
It was Major General Charles Gordon, a British officer and administrator, who picked up the gauntlet and began searching for an alternative site. In 1883, Gordon found a rocky escarpment near Damascus Gate. The fact that the escarpment resembled a skull suggested to Gordon that he had stumbled upon the true Golgotha, which may have been derived from the Hebrew and Aramaic for ‘skull.’ He also concluded that one of several tombs uncovered nearby in 1869 had to be the tomb of Jesus. John the Evangelist specifies that the tomb was located in a garden, and the site identified by Gordon contained an ancient cistern and a wine press; hence the name Garden Tomb (it’s also known as Gordon’s Calvary).
Despite the fact that archaeologists (not to mention the Catholic Church) have yet to embrace the Garden Tomb as the site of Jesus’ burial, the spot has become a popular Protestant place of pilgrimage. It is a quiet place, perfect for prayer and reflection.
Photos courtesy of the Ministry of Tourism, by Noam Chen
TripAdvisor Reviews
Based on 2244 traveler reviews“A Holy place for all.”
“He is Risen”
A must visit if you are in Jerusalem a lovely well maintained garden area were you can sit and have personal refection time.
“It makes sense”
So many people say the crucifixion was at the Church of the Sepulcher but the alternative to the written this makes sense. We see images portraying Him outside the city. We read that he was taken outside the city. This place... this spot makes perfect sense based on the stations of...
MoreSo many people say the crucifixion was at the Church of the Sepulcher but the alternative to the written this makes sense. We see images portraying Him outside the city. We read that he was taken outside the city. This place... this spot makes perfect sense based on the stations of the cross and the distance. We loved the gardens. Very peaceful and serene it gave us time to reflect and ponder the gravity. It also opened up the thought on how many stonings, crucifixtions and deaths did this place witness. We speak of one but lose sight of the many. Seeing the tomb was surreal and reminded me of the place where the holy family fled to in Egypt. Very similar carving. The tomb was gated but you feel the past inside. Looking at the track that held the stone you understand the weight of the action of sealing the tomb. Free entrance and close to the Old City this spot is a must see. Decide for yourself but open your mind to the possibilty.
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