One of Jerusalem, Israel’s, most visible religious sites is the Dome of the Rock (a 7th-century Islamic shrine with a gold dome on the Temple Mount in the walled Old City
“Jerusalem, Israel, a Middle Eastern city west of the Dead Sea, has been a place of pilgrimage and worship for Jews, Christians and Muslims since the biblical era. Its Old City has significant religious sites around the Temple Mount compound, including the Western Wall (sacred to Judaism), the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (a Christian pilgrimage site) and the Dome of the Rock (a 7th-century Islamic shrine with a gold dome).” – Wikipedia
In front of a mosaic depicting the anointing of Jesus with olive oil in preparation for burial, after he was taken off his crucifixion cross, are lamps hanging above the Anointing Stone, the 13th Station of the Cross, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Christian Quarter, the (walled) Old City, Jerusalem, Israel
A small group of us traveled from the ship, docked in Haifa, Israel, to Jerusalem for a very quick, two-day visit. There is so much to see and do that our two-days there only enabled us to begin to explore the city’s 4,000-year history and the numerous sites and artifacts sacred to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. “What has not already been said about the holiest city in the world, the city that has been united, the eternal city first built thousands of years ago, whose history can be heard in the whispering of the wind along the walls, where every stone tells a wondrous story of a city that has drawn millions of faithful pilgrims for thousands of years. Such is Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, the only city in the world that has 70 names of love and yearning, the city that in old maps appears at the center of the world and is still adored like a young bride. Jerusalem is a city of overwhelming emotions, a city that promises a religious and spiritual experience, excitement and pleasure, interesting tours and entertaining adventures. Here, alongside Jerusalem’s fascinating historic and archeological sites, there are amazingly modern tourist attractions for all lovers of culture, the arts, theater and music, architecture and gastronomic delights.” — www.goisrael.com
“At Jerusalem’s heart is the Old City, which is surrounded by a wall and divided into four quarters – Jewish, Armenian, Christian, and Muslim. Inside the walls are the important holy sites of the three major religions: the Western Wall, which is holy to the Jews, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and the Dome of the Rock and the Temple Mount.” — www.goisrael.com
“Jerusalem is also very important to Christianity, as Jesus Christ lived and died here. The Christian quarter alone houses some 40 religious buildings (churches, monasteries and pilgrims’ hostels). One of the most prominent and important sites in the Christian quarter is the Via Dolorosa, the ‘Way of Sorrows,’ Jesus’ final path, which according to Christian tradition led from the courthouse to Golgotha Hill, where he was crucified and buried. Many pilgrims come to Jerusalem to follow Jesus’ footsteps along a route that starts in the Muslim Quarter, at Lions’ Gate, and passes the 14 stations of the cross, ending at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Several of the most important Christian relics are housed in this church, including the anointing stone (on which Jesus’ body was laid before his burial) and Jesus’ grave. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is a pilgrimage site for millions of Christians from all over the world.” — www.goisrael.com
The gold dome of the Islamic Dome of the Rock is visible above the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, Israel; the Western Wall plaza is visited by millions of worshipers — at the base of the massive wall (a remnant of the Second Jewish Temple, destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D.) prayers are offered and notes containing heartfelt wishes are wedged between the crevices
Praying at the Western Wall, Old City, Jerusalem, Israel
In recent years the Western Wall plaza has been divided into two sections, one (left side) for men to approach the wall and pray, and a second (right side) for women – on the afternoon we visited there were many more women than men at the wall, Old City, Jerusalem, Israel
An olive tree that is over 2,000 years old in the garden of Gethsemane (adjacent to the Church of Gethsemane — also known as the Church of All Nations or the Church of the Agony — originally built in the 4th century A.D.), where Jesus spent time after the Last Supper (a Passover Seder in the Old City) before the Romans arrested him (and then crucified him), Mount of Olives, Jerusalem, Israel
The Knesset (Parliament) of Israel in the Government District in the New City, Jerusalem, Israel
A model of the Old City of Jerusalem (“The Holyland Model of Jerusalem”, 1966, based on the writings of Josephus) as imagined at the time of Jesus with the Second Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount (upper right corner of the photograph), Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
The Second Jewish Temple (built in 516 BC and destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D.) in the center of the Temple Mount in the model of the Old City, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
Close-up of he Second Jewish Temple (built in 516 BC and destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D.) in the center of the Temple Mount in the model of the Old City, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
The inside of the Shrine of the Book, a wing of the Israel Museum that houses the Dead Sea Scrolls (a facsimile of the parchment complete Book of Isaiah from the Bible is in the center display) – designed to represent the lid of one of the clay amphorae in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947-1956, Jerusalem, Israel
A close-up of the Isaiah scroll, dating from the second century BC, the most intact of the Dead Sea Scrolls; the Shrine of the Book also houses the Aleppo Codex, dating from the 10th century CE, the oldest existing Hebrew Bible – which I was unable to photograph, Jerusalem, Israel
“If you are wondering how Jerusalem became such a center of religions and spirituality and a pilgrimage site for millions of tourists from around the world, the answer begins thousands of years ago. Jerusalem’s history is one of wars and struggles. Its strategic location attracted many nations that wanted to capture the city, and some of them did rule over it for various periods. This city has known war and peace, love and hate, riches and poverty, destruction and renewal, happiness and pain.
“According to Jewish tradition, the creation of the world began (5766 years ago) with the foundation stone on Mount Moriah (under the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount). This is where an important royal Can’anite city was built (about 4,000 years ago), and which was conquered from the Jebusites by King David in 1004 BCE and became the capital of his kingdom and a holy city. David’s son Solomon built the First Temple and his descendants (Hezekiah, Zedekiah and the Judean Kings) continued to enlarge and fortify the city’s boundaries, and to build a water supply system (Hezekiah’s tunnel). These efforts paid off, and when King Sennacherib of Assyria besieged Jerusalem he could not subdue the city and withdrew. Only in 586 BCE did Nebuchadnezzar conquer the Jewish capital. The city was destroyed and most of its inhabitants exiled to Babylon. In 538 BCE Xerxes, the King of Persia, who has conquered Babylon, permitted the exiled Jews to return to Judea and Jerusalem, where they rebuilt the city and built the Second Temple. For 370 years Judea was an autonomous district, first under the Persians and then under the Greeks. After the Hasmonean Revolt in 168 BCE, Jerusalem again became the capital of a Kingdom, that later became under the rule of the Roman Empire. King Herod the Great further expanded the Temple in the years 73-4 BCE.
“At the end of the Second Temple period Jerusalem was a city of great social and religious tension. It was during this period that Jesus was preaching in Nazareth. In 66 CE the Jews rebelled against the Roman Empire and took over Jerusalem. The suppression of this revolt ended in 70 CE, and the Romans, led by Titus, conquered the capital, destroyed the Temple completely and exiled the city’s inhabitants. For the next 60 years Jerusalem was desolate, until the Bar Kokhba Revolt, when the Jews returned for a short while. In 135 CE, the Romans rebuilt and renamed the city Aelia Capitolina and barred the Jews from living there.
“After the Roman Empire accepted Christianity in 324 (and later became the Byzantine Empire), Jerusalem again became an important city. The site’s connected with Jesus’ life and death were located and declared holy, and many magnificent churches were built, including the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (the Church of the Resurrection) and the “Mother of all the Churches,” on Mt. Zion.
“In 638 the Muslims conquered Jerusalem and built the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa mosque over the next few centuries. Following the Muslim conquest the Jews returned to Jerusalem, and around the 10th century this city again became the spiritual capital for the Jews of the Land of Israel.
“The Crusaders also wanted to rule Jerusalem. They conquered the city in 1099, massacred the Jewish and Muslim residents and made Jerusalem their own capital. Less than 100 years later, in 1187, the Crusaders were defeated by Saladin a battle at Khitin. At that time the Jews returned to Jerusalem and have been here ever since.
“In 1250 the Mamluk dynasty rose to power in Egypt and its rulers conquered this region and became the new lords of Jerusalem. In 1517 the Ottoman Empire spread to Jerusalem and for 400 years was under Turkish rule. During the first 100 years the city flourished and its walls were rebuilt. In the second half of the 16th century, as the Ottoman Empire began to decline, so did Jerusalem’s fortunes.
“By the beginning of the 19th century Jerusalem was a small neglected city inside its walls, and only toward the end of the century (from 1860 onward), did the New City begin to grow, thanks to the generosity of British philanthropist Moshe Montifiore, who financed the construction of Mishkenot Sha’ananim. The success of this new neighborhood led to more neighborhoods being built outside the walls. More Jews began moving to Jerusalem, becoming a majority of the population in 1873.
“In 1917, with the start of the British Mandate period, Jerusalem retained its status as the capital of the land. When Israel was established in 1948, Jerusalem was declared the state capital, and all the major government institutions were built here. These including the Knesset (Israel’s parliament building), the Supreme Court and the various government offices.
“During the War of Independence, following bloody battles and ceasefire agreements, Jerusalem was left divided between Israel and Jordan, until the capital’s liberation in the Six Day War in 1967, when the two parts of the city were united and Jerusalem became Israel’s largest city.” — www.goisrael.com
Where in the world is Riccardo? 