Mount Gerizim

Mount Gerizim is sacred to the Samaritans, who regard it, rather than Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, as the location chosen by God for a holy temple. In Samaritan tradition, it is the oldest and most central mountain in the world, towering above the Great Flood and providing the first land for Noah’s disembarkation. It is also the location where Abraham almost sacrificed his son Isaac.  Jews, on the other hand, consider the location of the near-sacrifice to be Mount Moriah, traditionally identified by them with the Temple Mount. Mount Gerizim continues to be the centre of Samaritan religion to this day, and Samaritans ascend it three times a year: at Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot. Passover is still celebrated by the Samaritans with a lamb sacrifice on Mount Gerizim. Today, about half of the remaining Samaritans live in close proximity to Gerizim, mostly in the small village of Kiryat Luza.