Scrolls from the Holy Land – 6 : Old City of Jerusalem
Previous post: Bethlehem
Next post: Tiberias
This is where the action is.
Map of the Old city of Jerusalem marking the paths I walked on
I am very much a map person…
Take a look at the map, (I hope it is readable). Old city of Jerusalem is approximately 1 sq.km. piece of land housing few of the holiest sites of Abrahamic religions. It is divided into four quarters namely: Armenian Quarter, Christian Quarter, Muslim Quarter and Jewish Quarter. Until 1860, this area constituted the entire city of Jerusalem. However, currently the New City has expanded virtually all around it. This city is walled and has seven operational gates. It is unbelievable to see how so many sites of significance are fitted into this tiny grid.
I spent almost 3 days wandering in the narrow alleys of the old city. All of the 4 quarters have a distinctive feel: the smell, the people and even the cleanliness levels are different. Streets are lined by hundreds of little shops, alas most of them are souvenir shops selling expensive touristy stuff. Food is plenty and cheap in one of the restaurants. I spent long times sipping mint tea or pomegranate juice, eating falafel and watching people walking around.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre:
The New Testament (Holy book of the Christians) describes that this was the place where Jesus Christ was crucified and later buried in a sepulchre. The Churchs’ construction was ordered by the Roman emperor Constantine. Later the building was destroyed by Persians, rebuilt by Byzantines, damaged by Muslims, restored by Byzantines, changed hands to Turks, developed by Crusaders, changed control to Kurds and then to Khwarezmians, Turks again, British and finally today it is in the country of Israel. (phew! No, I did not memorize this).
As with other Christian sites I visited, this church was heavily crowded too. I visited this place twice and unfortunately both times were high season – Christmas and Orthodox Christmas. Plus it was quite dark inside, so I don’t have many pictures. The church is gigantic and the guidebook identified atleast 24 different places of worship in different corners of the church. For a person familiar with Bibical stories especially, this place holds lot of significance because one is able to actually see what was hitherto only textual description.
Dome of the Rock:
Dome of the Rock
By far in Israel, this was the most interesting structure I saw. The history of this place is simply fascinating – depressing, exciting and very interesting. The Dome of the Rock is situated on Temple Mount, the holiest site of Judaism. The First Jewish Temple stood here from 967 BCE to 586 BCE (destroyed by Babylonians), the Second Temple stood from 516 BCE to 70 CE (destroyed by Romans). During the Byzantine period and later during Crusader period, this place was briefly a Church. It was largely ignored until the arrival of the Muslims who built the current structure in 690 CE. This place is the third holiest site for the Muslims (after Mecca and Medina). Christians believe that rebuilding this temple will mark the second coming of Christ, while Jews believe that this site is where the Third temple would be rebuilt along with the arrival of Jewish messiah.
I had read before that only Moslems are allowed to enter this place but I went to the entrance anyway. The guard politely asked me to leave after I told him that I was not a Muslim. I disapprove this practise of barring entry for people of other religions – something that is prevalent in some Hindu temples too.
An Arab man praying outside the Al-Aqsa Mosque
There is lot more in the Old City of Jerusalem to talk about, but I have spent 6 blog posts in Jerusalem region itself. Lets move north to explore Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee next.
Previous post: Bethlehem
Next post: Tiberias
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Nice pictures Pri. I liked the Arab man praying one the most. Very informative post
↵Thanks Ash
↵I also disapprove the custom of barring entry. My view is that people of other religions, or for that matter even atheists, can visit a place of worship with the highest of respect for the place and people around there, then why the fuss? If only people had the right attitude and more tolerance for other faiths, there would be more harmony and less strife in this world.
Shai ma nana (tea with mint) and falafel is often a pastime in the Middle East, and endless cups are consumed throughout the day, and more so in winter.
It seems that the late King Hussain of Jordan had donated almost 100 kilos of gold at the time of refurbishing of the Dome of the Rock a few years before he died. You have captured a magnificent picture of the Dome of the Rock. I like the one showing Baqala Al-Khalafeh (read from the Arabic sign board in the picture) as well.
Another captivating post Priyank. Well done!
↵नमस्कार प्रियांक
↵तुझी वेबसाईट खरंच खूप छान आहे. तु बरेच कष्ट घेतलेत हे स्पष्टपणे दिसून येतं. हे प्रवासवर्णन वाचून मला या देशाबद्दल फारच उत्सुकता वाटु लागलीये. अभिनंदन.
Can you make the pictures open bigger when clicked ( similar to your other posts ) ?
↵Cellua:
↵Wow you know Arabic too? Pretty cool!
I didn’t know about Shai ma nana… I guess the restaurant owner thought I was a local too since I did spend some evenings doing nothing but that and writing my journal. Thanks for the big comment!
गणेश:
↵अभिप्रायाबद्दल धन्यवाद. नक्कि फिरायला जा !
and I just realized about the photos enlargement too. I’ll fix it 1
very professional work. I’m impressed, as a Pakistani Muslim i know I wont ever be allowed in the region but its okay to look at it from your eyes.
↵Ammar:
↵I’m sure you can go to Israel but you can’t come back to Pakistan with the Israeli visa. Like I wrote previously, I was staying in the Muslim Quarter and I did meet few Pakistani travelers (they were UK citizens). But meanwhile enjoy this virtual tour
Liked the Dome of Rock and the prayer photo
↵as long as people can maintain a sanctity of any religious site and do not make it like a commercial, touristy spot, I think everyone shd be allowed ..for instance vatican has very strict rules on dressing ..i dont see why other places shd make certain rules mandatory ..and still allow access to all
liked your pics..the arab praying and the dome of rock
↵Gauri:
Thanks, those are my favorite ones too!
Lakshmi (backpakker):
↵Very true. But I am not sure that the temple authorities are concerned about commercialization. They are more worried about concepts like purity of blood and other bullshit.
Priyank,
I love this blog series. You really have a great way of writing, sharing your experiences, and you photos are excellent!
And yes, Israelis love India. I’ve been for 3 short visits (all as part of business trips), and would love to go back. We had a funny story in Agra, after visiting the Taj Mahal, we visited one of the hotels as well. The PR lady asked us how many people live in Israel, and when we said 6 million, she asked us how was it possible for them all to be in India !!!
Well done – looking forward to the rest of the series.
↵Debi:
↵Thanks so much for the comments. I second the PR lady (hahaha). Hopefully I can keep you entertained for the rest of the series.
[...] Scrolls from the Holy Land – 6 : Old City of Jerusalem [...]
↵I like your sense of humour..keep it going….
↵Thanks Leena
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