This fortress-like monastery in the valley below the Israel Museum was founded in the early 4th century CE by King Bagrat of Georgia to commemorate the tradition that Jesus’s cross was constructed from a tree that grew here. Bagrat's monastery was destroyed by the Persians in 614, rebuilt in the Crusader era and sold to the Greek Orthodox Church in 1685. The interior features 17th-century frescos, a fragment of 6th-century mosaic floor in the chapel and a small museum.
The monastery can be reached by walking through Rehavia along Ramban St, crossing Hanasi Ben Zvi and following the path down the Valley of the Cross (Emeq HaMatzleva). From the city centre take bus 14 from the Central Bus Station and alight at the stop on Hayim Hazaz Blvd opposite the Rehavia Ben Gurion School, near the major intersection with HaRav Herzog St.
