Holy Hols (1) --- Visiting Jerusalem

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My husband and I visited Jerusalem on our own, not with a group. One can't get lost there what with so many people from all over the world. You'll always find someone who speaks your language or a language you know. We set out in the afternoon of our first day to get a glimpse of the Old City, the historical and religious heart of Jerusalem. We entered through the Damascus Gate, one of the eight gates (of which seven are still in use) of the old city wall built in the first half of the 16th century under the Ottoman Suleyman the Magnificent. The wall is 12 m high and 4 km long (one can walk on top of it) encircling the Old City. We found it surprisingly tiny, only 1 km across from side to side (about 30 000 people live there!) The Damascus Gate is the most impressive of the gates. It leads into the Muslim Quarter, one of the four quarters the Old City is divided into. The others are the Christian, the Jewish and the Armenian ones. It was stifling hot and suffocating in the narrow alleyways. We were there in the month of June. We had hardly stepped in when we felt we had to get out as quickly as possible. I heard a muezzin and suggested we go into the mosque to be able to breathe freely again for a while. What happened, though, was that we suddenly found ourselves in front of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre built over the spot where Jesus Christ is said to have been crucified and buried. We went in and found ourselves in an unbearable sauna. This was not a place to get some breath! But not only because of the heat. It is the most puzzling church I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen many in my life as a traveller! Following his conversion to Christianity, the Roman Emperor Constantine ordered in about 325/326 that the site of the crucifixion and the burial place be uncovered and a church be built there (his mother Helena is credited with the rediscovery of the Cross). The church was destroyed and rebuilt several times through the millenia. It got several annexes and has now a structure difficult to understand and explore for the unguided visitor. Today the primary custodians are the Greek Orthodox, the Armenian Apostolic and Roman Catholic churches. In the 19th century, the Coptic Orthodox, the Ethiopian Orthodox and the Syrian Orthodox acquired lesser responsibilities, which include shrines and other structures within and around the building. Times and places of worship for each community are strictly regulated in common areas. But alas, although they’re all Christians serving the Lord who preached love and peace, they’ve repeatedly got into fights (the last fist-fight occurred in 2004). Since 1192 a Muslim family has the guardianship and the key to the church. A wise decision! One has to climb up some steep stairs to get to the part where the cross is said to have stood. It’s a Greek Orthodox chapel now, the most lavishly decorated part of the whole church, gold and silver everywhere. When we were there, an old woman was crouching under the altar built over the spot cleaning and refilling oil lamps. As you can see in the photo, the church is rather inconspicuous. One would expect a more grandiose building to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus, wouldn't one? I also expected it to stand on a mound a bit outside and not *in* the city. The guidebook tells me, however, that the city has grown and that the church did stand outside when it was built. --- You can find the other instalments if you click on the green bar at the top of the site. --- Photo: youtube