Franciscan Monastery

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Lonely Planet review

The Order of St Francis is charged with guardianship of the Holy Land's sacred sites. The monastery interpreted this in a unique way, constructing replicas of those sites for the faithful who are unable to visit the Holy Land. Within the manicured gardens are life-size fake-granite reproductions of the Tomb of Mary, the Grotto at Lourdes and other subterranean sacred places. It's all very creepy and fascinating, like a holy Disneyland.

More oddities await inside Mt St Sepulchre itself, including reproductions of the Roman Catacombs under the sanctuary floor. These dark, narrow passages wind past fake tombs and the actual remains of Sts Innocent and Benignus.