3000 years in about 6 hours

  Jerusalem, Israel
Monday, October 27, 2008

who else

It's hard to overstate the historical significance of Jerusalem.  Rich in associations with tree of the world's major faiths -- Judaism, Christianity and Islam -- it is probably one of the most fascinating, diverse (and divisive) cities in the world.  The city has a history that stretches back more than 3,000 years.  I met my guide, Ahadeb, a bit after 8am and we were off to see it in the next six hours.  We confined our time to the the tightly walled Old City, home to cornerstones of the three faiths.  I told him that I wanted to see the major sites but also wanted to see things that most tourists would never see.  He more than happily obliged.  I asked him if he was Jewish or Muslim.  He was a Muslim.  His family has lived inside of the original 1948 borders of Israel since before Israeli independence in 1948.

Visit Israel err Palestine

This gives him different status from Palestinians who live in areas occupied by Israel since the 1967 war.  He serves in the Israeli Defence Force, freely works in Israel, has no restriction in travel and has full access to Israeli healthcare.  Palestinians, on the other hand, are shut out of Israel behind the new wall at the government's whim.  If they miss work and get fired, too bad.  If they can't get to hospital, too bad.  Phenomenal in this day and age that a civilized government treats their wards in such a way. 

Off to school

We entered the Old City through the Jaffa Gate and proceeded visit the sites in each of the city's quarters. The Old City is surrounded by stoned walls to this day and is characterized by narrow winding streets throughout.  The Old City is divided into four vaguely defined quarters-one each for Christians, Jews, Muslims and Armenians.  The Jewish Quarter is full of newly constructed buildings albeit all built in locally quarried limestone to blend in to the environs.  The Jews have been rebuilding and expanding their area because many of their homes and synagogues were destroyed during the period 1948-1967 when they were expelled by the Jordanians after Israeli independence.  During the reconstruction, great care was taken to ensure the randomness of streets...no grid plan in the Old City.  The Jewish Quarter is noticeably more orderly than the rest of the Old City.  It is also relatively free of tourist groups expect at the Western Wall (or Wailing Wall).

Wailing Wall

The Western Wall is Judaism's holiest site.  The wall is part of the retaining wall of the Temple Mount and is the only remnant of the structure of the Second Temple built by Herod the Great.  I think the "Wailing Wall" is a more apt description.

Islam and Judaism

The plaza in front of the wall is a permanent place of worship.  I was there on a Monday which is bar-mitzvah day.  There were competing groups of celebrants reciting and chanting at the top of their lungs in addition to regular worshippers.  They were loud.  Then I noticed over to our right where the wall seemed to continue beyond the plaza that there was only a single group celebrating a bar-mitzvah.  I asked my guide about this.

Quieter wailing wall

He explained that even though this was all the same wall, admittance to the plaza area is free whereas in the area I was looking at entrance cost about $5 a person.  Figures.

   
   
   

Me at the rock

From here we ascended the Temple Mount, the site of the Temple itself and currently the home of the Dome of the Rock, the third-most holy site in Islam after Mecca and Medina.  The Dome of the Rock is more of a shrine than a mosque today.  The Dome has become a symbol for Jerusalem and is the center of Jewish/Muslim emotion.

Security

The Rock itself is variously believed to be where Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac, where Muhammad left the Earth on his Night Journey to meet God as well as the site of the Holy of Holies of Herod's Temple.  All of these beliefs stir more emotion in the two religions than any other site anywhere.

Esplanade

As a result of this tension, security is everywhere...both physically and watching through casino-like security cameras.  (Let me tell you, it takes courage to point a camera at a security officer in Jerusalem.)  Jews, apparently, are forbidden from entering the Mount by the Rabbinical authorities.  Didn't apply to me.  
 

Dome of the Rock

The Dome is one of the first and greatest achievements of Islamic architecture built in AD 688-91.  The esplanade around the Dome is a virtual museum of Islamic architecture with various shrines,  fountains and minarets dotting the area.  It also provided fantastic views of the Mount of Olives and Mount Zion to the east.

Artistic detail

I am always taken aback when looking at the intricacy of Islamic architecture.  And especially considering that the Dome was built over 1300 years ago makes it even more spectacular.

Pavilion dome detail

Unfortunately the interior is now closed to the public since the Palestinian unrest and certain Jewish sect's calls for its destruction.  I was there in 1980 with Wanda, so I feel fortunate to have had an opportunity to see it.  And it is a rock inside. What struck me most was how many children there were.  This is the point where the authorities are concerned that violence might break out at any point.  But the esplanade is full of young children on field trips.  Bear in mind, these are all Muslim children, but children nonetheless.

School kids

     

    

Station 5 of the cross

After visiting the Temple Mount we wandered into the Muslim Quarter.  This area is the largest and most densely populated quarter of the Old City.  This area has been in decay since the 16th century.  But that's what makes it the most fascinating part of Jerusalem.  The Via Dolorosa begins in this area before finishing in the Christian Quarter at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site of Christ's crucifixion.

Pilgrims

The streets are teeming with throngs of tourists retracing Jesus' last steps, with ordinary citizens going about their business, and shop owners touting the wares of their gaudy shops. 

Damascus gate

These salesmen eagerly press on visitors all manner of ornaments and kitsch, from plastic crucifixes to glass-bowled water pipes. If you want to buy it, it can be found here in the Muslim Quarter.  Whatever "it" is, it's here.  If, by chance, it's not here, then someone will find it for you.  
 

Snack time

Ahadeb turned out to be a great, hospitable, guide.  During our six hours together, we covered a good portion of the old city.  At one point, we stopped at a local bakery.  He bought the best falafel and freshly baked bread that I've ever had and took us up onto the rooftop of the Austrian Hospice for views and a break.  My guide had told me that "Jerusalem was his city".  He was right because he knew more people than you could imagine as we navigated our way through the alleys and streets.
 

Up on the rooftop

  After the Muslim Quarter we went up on the rooftops above the market places below to shortcut over to the Christian Quarter.  Up on the roofs, you leave the frenzy below and get some very unique views of the city. 

Barricaded

The peacefulness of Jerusalem up here is marred by the guard towers, dividing walls and fences erected to protect Jewish residents that have moved in to Muslim and Christian sections of the city. My guide explained that Jewish families were buying homes in these non-Jewish Quarters. 

Barricaded

I found it puzzling that people would choose to live this way behind barbed wire.  I guess this is an expression of the power of faith.  Being up here also throws the odd juxtaposition that exists here.  A Jewish yeshiva (religious school) is next to a Muslim home which both sit opposite a Christian shrine.  Notice the picture here.  This is an apartment building with Jewish residents (Israeli flag) and Hamas supporters (black flag below on banister) coexisting.

Juxtaposition

Now take a closer look at the same picture.  In the bottom center notice the menorah with the Israeli flag flying over it.  This is the home of Ariel Sharon, former Israeli Prime Minister.  All  in the shadow of a minaret.  For me, this picture demonstrates that regardless of faith, we can all live together.  Jerusalemites do it every day.  Why can't they just agree to do so in peace without the tension and conflict?

Church of Holy Sepulchre

We descended the steps into the Christian Quarter.  Here there is a head-on collision between commerce and spirituality.  At the heart of the quarter is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the most sacred of all Christian sites.  It is surrounded by such a clutter of churches and hospices that all one can see of its exterior are the domes and entrance facade.  The nearby streets are filled with shops and stalls that thrive on the pilgrim trade.

Irish outside

The Church itself is built around what is believed to be the site of Christ's Crucifixion, burial and Resurrection.  The first basilica was built here in the fourth century then rebuilt, repaired, destroyed, rebuilt again and enlarged over the ensuing centuries.  The last five stations of the cross are inside the Church:  Jesus stripped of his clothes; nailed to the cross; taken down from the cross at Golgotha; and the Holy Sepulchre itself.

Stone of Unction

Golgotha

  
  
Fierce disputes between Christian creeds over ownership of the church were largely resolved by an Ottoman decree.  Still in force today, it divided custody among Armenian, Greeks, Copts, Roman Catholics, Ethiopians and Syrians.  But the keyholder of the Church is a Muslim acting as a "neutral" intermediary.   I met the keyholder (because my guide knew him).  He told me his family has been opening the Church every day for the last eight generations.  This divided custody has resulted in a hodgepodge of styles inside the Church as well as a quirky traditions carried out inside.  For example, I was there at a time when incense is carried through the church and around the major shrines. 

The Rotunda

But this was not performed once, but three times (Rose Nyland would say "thrice") separately by an Armenian, a Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic priest.  

Smoking

Because of the crowds, this feels more like a museum than a church.  I don't see anyway anybody could carry on a church service or mass with any hope of concentration or contemplative thought.  The various priests do process the crowds well, but I had my guide.  No waiting for me.  He just put me in the right spot and within groups at the right times.  Inside the Holy Sepulchre itself was awe inspiring.  

Christ's Tomb

This is the tomb where Jesus was buried and rose again.  I don't think anyone raised in the Christian tradition wouldn't be moved by being there.  Whether or not this was the actual place is irrelevant in my mind...it's a matter of Faith.

Haggling

After visiting the Church, it was time to shop.  I just couldn't help myself.  My guide took me to a reputable antiques dealer.  This was a typical Middle East experience.  Come in, sit down, coffee or tea?  I then chose a couple of items among his array of artifacts...a Roman door knocker from the 1st century and a Phoenician glass vase from the 3rd or 4th century BC.  We haggled over price.  But then in the end we were best of friends...until the next purchase.

Friends

Then back to the hotel.  I was exhausted.  Bed early...more tomorrow.