Located just outside the Old City walls, this historic landmark, dating back to the 5th century where it was a basilica during the Byzantine Empire, can be spotted from most viewpoints in Jerusalem. Like most holy sites in the area, the church was destroyed and rebuilt over hundreds of years until the basilica in its final form was opened in the early 1900’s. Tradition says that on this spot the Virgin Mary died, hence giving its name the “Basilica of the Assumption” (or Dormition). Jerusalem