3 Best Sights in East Jerusalem, Jerusalem

With its sculpted white turrets and gold onion domes, this Russian Orthodox church looks like something out of a fairy tale. It was dedicated in 1888, when the competition among European powers for influence in this part of the world was at its height. Princess Alice (the mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh) is buried here, near her aunt, Elizabeth, the Russian grand duchess–turned-nun who was killed by the Bolsheviks in 1918. The church has limited hours, but its icon-studded interior and tranquil garden are well worth a visit if your plans bring you to the area at the right time.

Designed by Antonio Barluzzi in the 1950s, the tear-shape church—its name means "The Lord Wept"—preserves the New Testament story of Jesus's sorrowful prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem (Luke 19). The remarkable feature of its simple interior is a picture window facing west, the iron cross on the altar silhouetted against a superb view of the Old City. Many archaeological items were unearthed here, including a group of ancient stone ossuaries, or bone boxes, preserved in a grotto on the right as you enter the site. The courtyard is a good place to enjoy the view in peace between waves of pilgrim groups. (Equally worthy of mention are the restrooms, rare in this area.) The church is about one-third of the way down the steep road that descends to Gethsemane from the Mount of Olives observation point.

Beware of pickpockets on the street outside.

The Gothic facade of the underground Church of the Assumption, which contains this shrine, clearly dates it to the Crusader era (12th century). Tradition has it that this is where the Virgin Mary was interred and then assumed into heaven, hence the more common name, the Tomb of the Virgin. In an otherwise gloomy church—hung with age-darkened icons and brass lamps—the marble sarcophagus, apparently medieval, remains illuminated. The 1852 Status Quo Agreement in force in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity pertains here, too: the Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, and even the Muslims control different parts of the property. The Roman Catholic Franciscans were expelled in 1757, a loss of privilege that rankles to this day.