King David's Tomb

The tomb on Mount Zion traces a twelfth-century legend, recorded by the Jewish traveler Benjamin of Tudela, of workmen who broke through a wall and stumbled on a golden crown before fleeing a mysterious wind. That story, more than any proof, is why pilgrims still come: the guide follows Crusaders who raised the stone canopy here in the twelve hundreds, Franciscan monks who later paid a fortune for the room above and called it the Last Supper site, and the Ottoman rulers who evicted them. Look for the embroidered blue cloth, marked with a crown, a violin and Torah scrolls, draped over the stone.