15th Dec 2019 Ein Karem Visitation Church, St John Ba Harim Church, Our Lady of the Ark of Covenent Abu Gosh, Old City Jerusalem

Church of Visitation, Jerusalem

The Church of the Visitation (formerly Abbey Church of St John in the Woods) is a Catholic church in Ein Karem, Jerusalem, and honors the visit paid by the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, to Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. (Luke 1:39–56) This is the site where tradition tells us that Mary recited her song of praise, the Magnificat, one of the most ancient Marian hymns.

Church of St John the Baptist, Jerusalem

The Church of Saint John Ba-Harim is dedicated to John the Baptist and built over previous chapels from the Byzantine and Crusader periods. Inside the church is a cave where according to tradition was the birthplace of John the Baptist. John is an important figure in Christianity , and regarded as the "forerunner" - since John Baptized Jesus,  and proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah.

Abu Gosh (Our Lady of the Ark of Covenant Church)

The Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant Church is a religious building belonging to the Catholic Church and is located on the northwestern edge of the town of Abu Ghosh in the central Israel. In 1141, near the area where the village of Abu Ghosh is located, the Knights Hospitaller founded another church, about 400 meters east of the Church of Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant. The structure built in 1924, according to tradition takes the place of the house of Abinadab where the Ark of the Covenant rested for twenty years, until King David took Jerusalem. It was built on the site of a previous Byzantine church of the fifth century is recognizable by the statue of Mary carrying the baby Jesus in her arms on the roof. The interior is decorated with simplicity. Its walls are painted white, and the great apse has a large Latin cross. The modern church now stands on a mound which was established by the Order of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition.

Jerusalem Old City

The Old City is a 0.9 square kilometers (0.35 sq mi) walled area within the modern city of Jerusalem. The Old City is home to several sites of key religious importance: the Temple Mount and Western Wall for Jews, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christians and the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque for Muslims. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site List in 1981. Traditionally, the Old City has been divided into four uneven quarters, although the current designations were introduced only in the 19th century. Today, the Old City is roughly divided (going counterclockwise from the northeastern corner) into the Muslim Quarter, Christian Quarter, Armenian Quarter and Jewish Quarter. The Old City's monumental defensive walls and city gates were built in the years 1535–1542 by the Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. The current population of the Old City resides mostly in the Muslim and Christian quarters. With a distinctive Arabian nights feel to it, the Arab market – or souq – located in the Christian and Muslim Quarters of the Old City is a labyrinth of alleyways lined with shops selling everything from handmade jewelry and exotic scarves to hookahs and ceramics.