Description

Tradition says that Lazarus, friend of Jesus and brother of Mary and Martha, was raised from the dead here (John 11:17-44). The village, despite its name, is not the biblical Bethany, which lies further up the mountain. Get there by car or taxi. The tomb is now surmounted by a mosque, with the Franciscan church, designed by Barluzzi, nearby. Like other Christian sites on the Mount of Olives, it is built over earlier remains, in this case, fourth and sixth century sanctuaries, and a Crusader period Benedictine convent built by the Crusader Queen Melisende. Parts of these earlier structures and the crusader mosaic floor are visible.