Israel. Holy Land. Jerusalem.Tomb of the Virgin Mary, , the mother of Jesus.

In the Kidron Valley, at the foot of the Mount of Olives, near the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations, lies Mary’s Tomb. Tomb of the Virgin Mary or Church of the Sepulchre of Saint Mary, also Tomb of the Virgin Mary, is a Christian tomb– believed by Eastern Christians to be the burial place of Mary, the mother of Jesus. As with all saints, Mary fell into an eternal sleep and she rose to heaven, where she was gathered up in the arms of her son. Alongside Mary’s tomb tradition also identifies here the tomb of her husband, Joseph the Carpenter. A wide Crusader stairway of nearly 50 steps leads to the crypt. Partway down, on the right, is a niche dedicated to the Virgin Mary’s parents, Anne and Joachim. Almost opposite is a niche dedicated to Mary’s husband, St Joseph. The crypt, much of it cut into solid rock, is dark and gloomy. The smell of incense fills the air, the ceiling is blackened by centuries of candle smoke, and gold and silver lamps hang in profusion. Narrow openings on two sides allow access, and three holes in the wall of the tomb enable pilgrims to touch the bench. Because the emperor Constantine’s engineers cut away the surrounding rock to isolate the Tomb of Mary in the middle of the crypt, its appearance strongly resembles her Son’s tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulche.