In the 7th century, in the period of Byzantine Empire there was built a big temple at the site of the Ascension of Jesus. However, it was completely destroyed in the Arab period.
Now at the place of the Ascension you can see the small Basilica of Ascension, which was built by the crusaders in the 11th century. At the chapel you can see a slab of stone with a footprint. According to the legend, it is believed to be the footprint of Jesus Christ («Stopochka»), which remained after his Ascension to the heaven. At nowadays the Chapel of Ascension belongs to the Arab, however, everyone can freely visit it.
At one of the heads of the Olive Mount there is the Russian Monastery of Transfiguration and Ascension. You can see its tall 64-meter bell tower almost from any point in Jerusalem and its environs. The Church of Ascension (main temple of the monastery) is at the place where the Virgin Maria stood when Jesus Christ ascended to the heaven. Nearby there is a small church built at the sites of the first and second finding of the Head of John the Baptist.
