Kidron Valley is the modern name of the valley originating slightly northeast of the Old City of Jerusalem, which then separates the Temple Mount from the Mount of Olives, and ending at the Dead Sea. Beyond Jerusalem it continues in a general south-easterly direction through the Judean desert in the West Bank, reaching the Dead Sea near the settlement of Ovnat, and descending 4,000 feet (1,200 m) along its 20-mile (32 km) course.
Kidron Valley viewed from the Old City of Jerusalem, with the Stepped Stone Structure (bottom right)
Dry plate photograph of Jews gathering at Absalom's Tomb in the Kidron Valley, early 20th century. View towards the south-west from the Jewish cemetery, with the south-eastern corner of Temple Mount in the upper background.
Jan van Cootwijk, folio from the Itinerary of Jerusalem and Syria: Kidron Valley with Jesus' footprints near the bridge, Absalom's pillar (right), and the Tomb of the Virgin in the background. Antwerp, 1619.
Benei Hazir Tomb (left) and Tomb of Zechariah (right)
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the oldest cities in the world, and is considered holy to the three major Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Both the State of Israel and Palestine claim Jerusalem as their capital. Israel maintains its primary governmental institutions there, and Palestine ultimately foresees it as its seat of power. Neither claim is widely recognized internationally.
Image: Jerusalem 1712855
Image: המצודה בלילה
Image: הרברט סמואל ירושלים
Image: Jerusalem Chords Bridge 5 (cropped)
