Octagonal Interior

View looking northeast at the Kathisma Church.

Note the three concentric octagonal wall of the church.  The inner ring, on which a column is lying, surrounds the sacred rock—thought to be the spot where Mary sat on her journey to Bethlehem (thus “Kathisma,” Greek for “seat” or “chair”).

In the foreground, covered with sand and dirt are portions of the southwest chapel that is situated in the outer ring of walls.  Beautiful mosaics have been found in these chapels, and I assume that the sand/dirt is covering these.

Between the outer ring, and the inner space is the “ambulatory” that is predominantly white.  This is where pilgrims evidently processed around the rock as part of the liturgy.

The tree covered hill in the distance (northeast) is where Kibbutz Ramat Rachel is located.

For brief descriptive comments on the Kathisma Church Click Here.