Jerusalem is one of the oldest cities of the world. It is considered holy to the Judaism, Christianity and Islam. During its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed, besieged, attacked, captured and recaptured several times. The oldest part of the city dates back to 4th millennium BC. In 1538, walls were built around Jerusalem under Suleiman the Magnificent. Today these walls define the Old City. The Old City became a World Heritage site in 1981, and is on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Modern Jerusalem has grown far beyond the Old City's boundaries.
Jerusalem has been the holiest city in Judaism and the ancestral and spiritual homeland of the Jewish people since the 10th century BC. The city of Jerusalem is given special status in Jewish religious law. In particular, Jews outside Jerusalem pray facing its direction. Jerusalem has long been embedded into Jewish religious consciousness. Jews have studied and personalized the struggle by King David to capture Jerusalem and his desire to build the Jewish temple there. According to the Hebrew Bible-Tanakh, the First Temple, at the site known as the Temple Mount today, was built by King Solomon and finished in 950 BC, and Mount Moriah is where Abraham almost sacrificed his son and talked to God.
In Islam, Jerusalem is the third-holiest city, after Mecca and Medina. It is considered a sacred site in Sunni Islamic tradition, along with Mecca and Medina. Islamic tradition holds that previous prophets were associated with this city, and that the prophet Muhammad visited the city on a nocturnal journey (Isra and Mi'raj). Due to such significance it was the first Qibla (direction of prayer) for Muslims and the prophet Muhammad designated the Al-Aqsa for pilgrimage. Muhammad declared himself to be the last prophet of the Judaic-Christian Religions and he created the third monotheistic religion: Islam. The Dome of the Rock is an Islamic sacred shrine in Jerusalem, built on the Temple Mount. This is where Muhammad ascended into heaven and was given the 5 pillars of Islam from Allah, which is still used today. Part of Jerusalem's significance and holiness to Muslims derives from its strong association with Abraham, David, Solomon, and Jesus. They are all regarded as Prophets of Islam and their stories are mentioned in the Qur'an.
In Christian tradition, Jerusalem's place in the life of Jesus gives it great importance, in addition to its place in the Old Testament. Jerusalem is the place where Jesus was brought as a child, to be "presented" at the Temple and to attend festivals. According to the Gospels, Jesus preached and healed in Jerusalem, especially in the Temple courts. There is also an account of Jesus' "cleansing" of the Temple, chasing various traders out of the sacred precincts. At the end of each of the Gospels, there are accounts of Jesus' Last Supper in an "upper room" in Jerusalem, his arrest in Gethseman, his trial, his crucifixion at Golgotha, his burial nearby and his resurrection and ascension.
The Old City is divided into four quarters; each with a unique feel and history The Armenian Quarter is the smallest of the quarters and has some interesting museums, shops featuring the distinctive Armenian Pottery, and restaurants. The Moslem Quarter is alive and crowded with markets and shops and inexpensive but delicious restaurants. The Christian Quarter has the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in addition to dozens of other churches and historic sites. The Jewish Quarter has numerous sites many of which are underground, and has the Cardo, an upscale shopping street dating back to Byzantine times.
The Armenian Quarter occupies the southwest corner of the Old City. It covers one-sixth of the area contained inside the ancient walls. It is believed that between 35 and 25 B.C., the Jewish King, Herod built a fortress and his palace along the western wall of the Quarter which at that time was called The Upper City ( Zion) since it was relatively on higher ground than the other Quarters.
The Muslim Quarter is the largest and most populated of the four quarters in the Old City. Developed by Herod the Great, organized by the Christian Byzantine Empire, and then occupied by the Christian Crusaders Even this section is full of Churches and Christian shrines. The main streets, El-Wad and Via are bazaars with Muslim shopkeepers ready to sell the Christian Pilgrim a plastic crucifix or olive wood nativity set. When Jesus walked through these streets during his crucifixion, its believed that these streets were busy then also and perhaps had shops. This area is closer to Closer to the Temple Mount and preserves some of the fine medieval Islamic architecture.
The Christian Quarter is the most visited quarter of the Old City because it includes the site of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection—the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This quarter is cluttered with a seemingly endless cluster of churches and holy sites whose roofs, domes and facades are built so close together that they are undistinguishable. The streets are filled with narrow storefronts leading into shops that continue long narrow paths to the back. The market streets are noisy with modern pilgrims and shopkeepers trying to lure them into their stores.
The Jewish Quarter is a thriving modern community with more than 1,000 families. It has been rebuilt out of the rubble that was left from Jordanian occupation of the area from 1948 until the Six Day War of 1967. Since the destruction was severe, the Jews who returned to the Old City in 1967 excavated the quarter’s archaeological remains first and then built their city over, around and beside the ancientdiscoveries. Today there are numerous synagogues and schools for Jewish studies, along with contemporary shops and restaurants up and down the streets. The ancient Roman Cardo Street (135 AD) with its old Byzantine bazaar (325 AD) has been preserved and is filled with trendy new businesses that sell a wide variety of items, including original art work by local artists.
My most interesting sojourn with the land of Jesus starts from the visit to the last supper room. The Last Supper Room is a second-story room which is popularly called the "upper room" in which Jesus shared the Last Supper with the disciples. It is located directly above the Tomb of David. The present room, which was built in the 12th century may not be the original site. However, it is possible that it stands over or near the original site of the Last Supper as beneath the floor of the building are Byzantine and Roman pavements and the foundations go back to at least the 2nd century AD. It is possible that the "little church of God" that existed on Mount Zion in 130 AD was on this site. Since danger and persecutions would have excluded Christian invention of a new holy place in the 2nd century, so if an active church existed in 130 AD , it must have already been important for some time — perhaps because the upper room was nearby. Hence, this site is reasonably believed to be the original site of Last supper.
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| Last supper room (upper room) |
The upper room is also known as "the Upper Church of the Apostles." This designation referred, however, not to the Last Supper but to the apostles' receiving of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, which also occurred in an "upper room".
Below the upper room is the tomb of David . It is the thousand-year-old building that houses the Tomb of King David on Mount Zion. .Jews have streamed here for centuries to recite the Psalms written by David, whose life teaches many lessons about human nature.
The tomb is covered with a velvet cloth embroidered with the words David Melech Israel Hai Vekayam, the first song many Jewish children learn. Prayers at King David’s tomb also turn to Jerusalem, which David made the united capital of the tribes of Israel. Visitors are not allowed to switch on their mobile phones when entering the tomb. Even if a visitor doesn’t switches off the mobile , it doesn’t works the moment the visitor reaches the tomb- a miracle or a jammer ! don’t know .
The Temple Mount is of multifaceted religious significance. Historically, it took its shape from the construction of the First and Second Jewish Temples. At its centre today is the Dome of the Rock, an ornate Islamic shrine built in 691 which marks the spot of Abraham’s offering of Ishmael and the Prophet Mohammed heavenward ascent. It also covers the Foundation Stone- itself considered the holiest site in Judaism. The Dome of the Rock is adjacent to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, also part of the Temple Mount.
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| Al aqsa mosque |
Al-Aqsa Mosque is the second oldest mosque in Islam after the Ka'ba in Mecca, and is third in holiness and importance after the mosques in Mecca and Medina. Al-Aqsa Mosque holds up to 400,000 worshippers at one time, bearing in mind that the space required for each person is roughly 0.8m x 0.5m to enable the submissive kneeling in prayer. There are 11 gates to Al-Aqsa Mosque: 7 of which are open. Of the 4 closed gates, one is the Golden Gate.
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| The rock from where Prophet Muhammad ascended heaven |
The Western Wall, also known as the Wailing Wall, is one of Judaism's most holy sites and forms part of the western flank of the holy site of the Temple Mount. The wall is the Imposing remnant of Jerusalem's Second Temple, which the Romans destroyed in 70 CE. According to Jewish tradition, despite the temple's destruction, the divine presence never left. While the wall itself stands as an impressive archaeological record from the time of King Herod, the hush that envelops the plaza in front of it as Jews approach the base of the wall to pray is also captivating. Jews come from all over the world to place prayer notes in the wall's crevices. It is believed that all wishes are fulfilled here.
The place holds a special significance to me as I did make two wishes one for my very dear friend, who was worried about her marriage and the other for my family. Within a decade after I reached India, I came to know she found a handsome guy and her marriage got fixed. She has a happy family now and I am glad that this wish got fulfilled in no time. Of course my other wish also got fulfilled. People write wishes on a piece of paper and put them in the crevices of the wall.
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| At the western wall (wailing wall) |
After this broad account of the holy city, I will be focusing upon the 14 stations to the cross before concluding description of my tryst with Jesus in the net post.
