Mount Zion: Room of the Last Supper and Dormition Abbey

Mount Zion is the hill just outside Zion Gate, south of Jerusalem's Old City walls in Israel, and it gathers several of the city's most venerated Christian and Jewish sites within a short walk. The Cenacle, or Room of the Last Supper, is an upper hall with Gothic vaulting built by Crusaders and traditionally identified as the place of Jesus's final meal with his disciples. Beneath it is the venerated Tomb of King David, where worshippers pray and gender-separated areas apply, with men asked to cover their heads. Nearby stands the Dormition Abbey, a Benedictine church with a tall round tower and a distinctive Romanesque-style dome. Inside, a floor mosaic of zodiac signs and saints surrounds a main altar, and the crypt holds a carved figure of the sleeping Virgin Mary beneath a mosaic dome. The abbey is open daily during daytime hours, and a small donation is requested for the crypt. A short walk down the slope leads to the Protestant Cemetery on Mount Zion, where Oskar Schindler is buried, and visitors often leave small stones on his grave. The Church of St Peter in Gallicantu and the Armenian and Catholic cemeteries lie nearby. Visits take about an hour to ninety minutes, and mid-morning is the best time because the Cenacle and the tomb keep limited hours, especially on Fridays, and the tomb is closed to visitors on Saturdays. Crowds gather near midday when tour groups arrive and queues form at the tomb. Visitors should wear clothes covering shoulders and knees, and photography is limited in prayer areas. The lanes around Mount Zion are quiet compared with the Old City markets, and the terrace views look over the walls toward the Mount of Olives. From Zion Gate the walk is five minutes, and the sites can be combined with the Jewish Quarter and the Western Wall in a half-day route.