Mount of Olives, Jerusalem

The Mount of Olives is not only a sacred place with a rich history, but also an incredible vantage point over Jerusalem, from which one can see the Dome of the Rock in a unique light. For a long time, I aspired to capture the moment when the sun sets exactly behind the Dome of the Rock, but the path there was fraught with challenges. I tried again and again, every time I had the opportunity to come to Jerusalem for afternoon work meetings, after which I would rush to the Mount of Olives. Each unsuccessful attempt taught me something new about the necessary conditions. Sometimes there were clouds that obscured the sun at the critical moment, sometimes I arrived a few minutes too late and by the time I reached the shooting point, the sun had already set beyond the horizon. Additionally, one can achieve  this precise angle only between April and August, which forced me to wait half a year to try again.

Eventually, I arrived at the right time, but the challenge didn’t end there – to capture the perfect vertical angle, I jumped up and down between rows of graves on the mountain, and I had to run left and right to capture the sunset at the exact point you see here above. The physical work required of me to produce the panorama was no less important than the waiting and planning.

And when the moment came, the sun stood exactly behind the Dome of the Rock, and the resulting light was breathtaking. The sky filled with deep shades of blue, the shadowed dome wrapped in a soft, golden glow that framed it mystically. The ancient graves on the mountain, also painted in the golden light of the sunset, added another dimension of depth and power to the panorama. There was something about them that connects the distant past to the immediate present, as they stand silent, yet telling a story across generations of history.

The resulting panorama was more than just a picture; it’s the outcome of determination, patience, planning, and commitment to capture the most precise moment. The view of the sunset behind the Dome of the Rock, alongside the unique landscape of the Mount of Olives, created a panorama rich in details, each telling its own story.