Mount Zion (Hebrew: , Har Tzion) is a hill just outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. The term "Zion" became synonymous with the entire city of Jerusalem and the Land of Israel. There is reason to believe that in Biblical times the name Mount Zion referred to the area of what today is called by Jews the Temple Mount. However, as early as the first century the hill today called Mount Zion had acquired the name for unknown reasons. Between 1948 and 1967, this narrow strip of land was a designated no-man's land between Israel and Jordan.

House of Caiaphas / Saint-Peter-in-Gallicantu Church is built in the slopes of mount Zion. It was built in 1931.

According to tradition, this was the place•of the palace of high priest Caiaphas, where Jesus was brought to jail after his arrest. Its name (Gallicantu, means the cock's crow) is given after the story of Peters triple denial of Christ and the cock

This official residence would have been an extensive complex, built by Annas (who continued to maintain influence over the high priesthood, arranging for several family members to become such). The complex would have had a gate from the street, leading to a courtyard, which would have been surrounded by several connected buildings including residences for Annas and Caiaphas. It would not have been uncommon for informal meetings of the Sanhedrin to take place at this location, though this would not excuse the fact that such a trial was taking place after dark.

crowing twice.

In the court yard of the church is a statue that describes the events (see Mark 14) of the denial of Jesus by Peter, the cock (seen on the top), the maid, and the Roman soldier. The inscription reads parts from Luke 22: 57: "But he denied him, saying: Woman, I know him not".

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On the basement of the church is an array of caves. These were cut into the rock under the houses of the ancient city. According to the tradition, these caves included a jail where Jesus was held after his arrest. A dungeon type chamber, hewn out of bedrock,

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where Jesus was held after his arrest. A dungeon type chamber, hewn out of bedrock, testifies to the type of power the high priest wielded. A single entrance, or portal, in the floor was the means by which a prisoner was confined in the dark cells below.

Engraved Byzantine crosses are seen when looking down into the sacred pit. On the walls below there are additional signs of crosses and a praying figure.

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Jesus undergoes 5-6 trials… in between trials he was illegally beaten and imprisoned in Caiaphas' house: 2 by Sanhedrin; 2 by Pilate; 1 or 2 by Herod

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Psalm 88:1-18: 1 O Lord, God of my salvation; I cry out day and night before you. 2 Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry! 3 For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol. 4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am a man who has no strength, 5 like one set loose among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand. 6 You have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark and deep. 7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah 8 You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape; 9 my eye grows dim through sorrow. Every day I call upon you, O Lord; I spread out my hands to you. 10 Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah 11 Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon? 12 Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? 13 But I, O Lord, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you. 14 O Lord, why do you cast my soul away? Why do you hide your face from me? 15 Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.16 Your wrath has swept over me; your dreadful assaults destroy me. 17 They surround me like a flood all day long; they close in on me together. 18 You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness.

We concluded our time here with two songs… "And can it be" & "It is well with my soul"

Only difference between me and Judas is Jesus' intercession•Peter was outside in the courtyard when the cock crowed… he wept bitterly…•"When you have turned back, feed my sheep"•We are not prepared to serve until we are broken…•

Harry's Thoughts in Caiphas' courtyard:

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The Tomb of David has been revered as a holy place by the three monotheistic religions for centuries. Remnants of a Byzantine church can be found at the place and it has also been used as a mosque. All three traditions are based on an age old reverence for the place dating back to the 3rd Century. Since the establishment of Israel in 1948 Mount Zion and thereby David's Tomb fell into Israeli hands and has been a Jewish holy site since. The tradition for the site being David's Tomb is relatively recent and dates back to the 11th Century only.

The Upper Room: On the second floor of the tomb one will find the Room of the Last Supper which is a Christian holy place also called the Mount Zion Church. The room visited by tourists today is a Crusader structure as evidenced by the architecture. The church commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus which can't have taken place in the building which was built in the 12th Century, but which might have taken place in the area.

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