2 Best Sights in Mount Zion, Jerusalem

Tradition has enshrined this spare, 14th-century second-story room as the location of the New Testament "upper room," where Jesus and his disciples celebrated the ceremonial Passover meal that would become known in popular parlance as the Last Supper (Mark 14). At that time, archaeologists tell us, the site was inside the city walls. Formally known as the Cenacle or the Coenaculum (dining room), the room is also associated with a second New Testament tradition (Acts 2) as the place where the disciples gathered on Pentecost, seven weeks after Jesus's death, and were "filled with the Holy Spirit."

A little incongruously, the chamber has the trappings of a mosque as well: restored stained-glass Arabic inscriptions in the Gothic windows, an ornate mihrab (an alcove indicating the Muslim direction of prayer, toward Mecca), and two Arabic plaques in the wall. The Muslims were not concerned with the site's Christian traditions but with the supposed Tomb of King David—the "Prophet" David in their belief—on the level below. Allow 10 minutes to fully soak in the atmosphere.

According to the Hebrew Bible, King David, the great Israelite king of the 10th century BC, was buried in "the City of David"—the Bible's dynastic name for his capital, Jerusalem. Archaeologists have identified and excavated that site, on a low ridge to the east; but medieval Jewish pilgrims erroneously placed the ancient city on this hill, where they sought—and supposedly found—the royal tomb. Its authenticity may be questionable, but a millennium of tears and prayers has sanctified the place.

The tomb is capped by a cenotaph, a massive stone marker draped with a velvet cloth embroidered with symbols and Hebrew texts traditionally associated with David. Ultra-Orthodox religious authorities have divided the shrine, already cramped, into two tiny prayer areas to separate men and women. Modest dress is required, and men must cover their heads. There's no photography on the Sabbath and Jewish religious holidays.