Jerusalem in just 3 days
by Paul Keene
How to Get Around:
The best way to see the Old City of Jerusalem is by walking the
narrow, ancient alleyways that twist and turns like a maze.
Parts of the Old City like the Shouk (market) where the hustle
and bustle crushes around you amid the presence of the past is
pedestrianised.
The Church of the Holy Sepulcher
The Via Dolorosa ends here, at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
Like most of the Old City, it is located within a small
courtyard in front and the neighboring buildings built of
Jerusalem stone. The dome of the church next to the spire of a
minaret, the call to prayer echoing through the ancient alley
ways. Inside the church, the place has been divided up among
several Christian sects who jealously guard their piece of
space.
This spot, the highest in the Old City, has been a sacred site
since the Romans built their temple to Venus, and there have
been several churches here, beginning with the one Constantine
put up, followed by another constructed by the Crusaders. It's
been added onto since then, but it remains a square Gothic
creation with vast ceilings and huge columns supporting it.
The volume of tourists is almost the same as in the shouk. Here,
Christ was nailed to the cross. Herded down another set of
stairs, past the slab of rock where his body was washed and,
finally, a few feet away, the Holy Sepulcher itself. Everything
is covered in gold and tapestries.
Towards the back of the church are cool, calm, softly lit
corridors, open onto small chapels. You can sense the aroma from
centuries gone by and the dampness in the air.
Dome of the Rock
The Dome of the Rock is located above the Wailing Wall on the
old Temple Mount (Haram esh-Sharif, in Arabic).
There is no commercialism here. In fact, you leave all your
belongings outside: shoes, purses, cameras, money, and
passports.
Under the huge gold dome, is the quiet and peace of a place that
exudes spiritualism. Men (and women, separately) quietly go
about their devotions. People speak softly, nobody sells
postcards or candles, and no one takes photographs. What light
there is shines down from stained glass windows into the dome,
onto a chunk of bare rock bordered by an elaborately carved
wooden screen. It was here that Abraham was prepared to
sacrifice his son, and here Mohammed is said to have ascended to
heaven on his horse. The horse's hoof prints are supposed to be
visible in the stone.
No matter what your beliefs, this is a unique place and nobody
should miss out on an opportunity to visit it.
Shrine of the Book
This is a must see. The Dead Sea Scrolls are housed here. You
walk down a sloping tunnel into the underground building that
could double as a movie set for a Sci-Fi flick. The long halls
are lined with glass-fronted recesses. Inside are various
ancient scrolls found in the caves around Ein Gedi and range
from dispatches from Bar Kochba to his troops during his
uprising against Rome in 132 C.E. to even earlier documents,
including legal papers relating to lawsuits, property deeds and
loans.
Not until you are underground do you see the Scrolls themselves.
The room is round and bi-level with walls of stone slabs like so
many of the ancient buildings in the city. Some are just
fragments; some seem to be quite complete. Each is perfectly
formed letter sits on faint lines drawn for the scribe to
follow.
In the deepest part of the Shrine is the spherical window
holding the Isaiah scroll, wrapped around an oversized version
of the wooden pole a Torah is wrapped around. You can slowly
walk around it. What a miracle it is that these fragile pieces
of papyrus and parchment have survived for so many thousands of
years.
by Paul Keene
How to Get Around:
The best way to see the Old City of Jerusalem is by walking the
narrow, ancient alleyways that twist and turns like a maze.
Parts of the Old City like the Shouk (market) where the hustle
and bustle crushes around you amid the presence of the past is
pedestrianised.
The Church of the Holy Sepulcher
The Via Dolorosa ends here, at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
Like most of the Old City, it is located within a small
courtyard in front and the neighboring buildings built of
Jerusalem stone. The dome of the church next to the spire of a
minaret, the call to prayer echoing through the ancient alley
ways. Inside the church, the place has been divided up among
several Christian sects who jealously guard their piece of
space.
This spot, the highest in the Old City, has been a sacred site
since the Romans built their temple to Venus, and there have
been several churches here, beginning with the one Constantine
put up, followed by another constructed by the Crusaders. It's
been added onto since then, but it remains a square Gothic
creation with vast ceilings and huge columns supporting it.
The volume of tourists is almost the same as in the shouk. Here,
Christ was nailed to the cross. Herded down another set of
stairs, past the slab of rock where his body was washed and,
finally, a few feet away, the Holy Sepulcher itself. Everything
is covered in gold and tapestries.
Towards the back of the church are cool, calm, softly lit
corridors, open onto small chapels. You can sense the aroma from
centuries gone by and the dampness in the air.
Dome of the Rock
The Dome of the Rock is located above the Wailing Wall on the
old Temple Mount (Haram esh-Sharif, in Arabic).
There is no commercialism here. In fact, you leave all your
belongings outside: shoes, purses, cameras, money, and
passports.
Under the huge gold dome, is the quiet and peace of a place that
exudes spiritualism. Men (and women, separately) quietly go
about their devotions. People speak softly, nobody sells
postcards or candles, and no one takes photographs. What light
there is shines down from stained glass windows into the dome,
onto a chunk of bare rock bordered by an elaborately carved
wooden screen. It was here that Abraham was prepared to
sacrifice his son, and here Mohammed is said to have ascended to
heaven on his horse. The horse's hoof prints are supposed to be
visible in the stone.
No matter what your beliefs, this is a unique place and nobody
should miss out on an opportunity to visit it.
Shrine of the Book
This is a must see. The Dead Sea Scrolls are housed here. You
walk down a sloping tunnel into the underground building that
could double as a movie set for a Sci-Fi flick. The long halls
are lined with glass-fronted recesses. Inside are various
ancient scrolls found in the caves around Ein Gedi and range
from dispatches from Bar Kochba to his troops during his
uprising against Rome in 132 C.E. to even earlier documents,
including legal papers relating to lawsuits, property deeds and
loans.
Not until you are underground do you see the Scrolls themselves.
The room is round and bi-level with walls of stone slabs like so
many of the ancient buildings in the city. Some are just
fragments; some seem to be quite complete. Each is perfectly
formed letter sits on faint lines drawn for the scribe to
follow.
In the deepest part of the Shrine is the spherical window
holding the Isaiah scroll, wrapped around an oversized version
of the wooden pole a Torah is wrapped around. You can slowly
walk around it. What a miracle it is that these fragile pieces
of papyrus and parchment have survived for so many thousands of
years.
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