Leaving the Church of the Pater Noster and turning right takes the visitor to al-Shayyah and al-‘Izariyya. Turning north takes the visitor to the Seven Arches Hotel (formerly the Intercontinental) where the spectacular view provides an artistic image of Jerusalem, with the Qadron Valley and Silwan in the foreground, al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock in the middle, and the domes of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the background.
A Panorama of Heaven and Earth
From this viewpoint, a must for the visitor of Jerusalem, one can see the eastern wall of the mosque and the southern corner of the Jerusalem Wall, as well as parts of the village of Silwan and most of the Old City, especially Qadron Valley and the surrounding cemeteries. The holy books of various religions connect this area with the day of judgment and related events, which explains the presence of so many cemeteries in this part of Jerusalem, between the Old City and the Mount of Olives. There are narratives about Safiyya, Prophet Muhammad’s wife, visiting the Mount and praying on it, quoted to have said: “Here, people are separated, on their way to heaven or hell”.
