Most tourist cities include requisite stops at specific holy places. This of course is true for the City of Jerusalem. However, to say that there are a great many important religious places in Jerusalem would be like saying that Mother Theresa was a nice elderly lady. Jerusalem does not just have many holy sites, Jerusalem IS a holy site. The Holy City as it is often referred to, is aptly named.
Our tour of the world’s monotheistic religions came to a grand crescendo yesterday afternoon, just after 2:00pm on the Temple Mount. As we stood between the Dome of the Rock and The Mount of Olives with the Western Wall below us, our tour guide, with the grace of a symphony conductor, summarized the common threads that weave through Judaism, Christianity and Islam. He conveyed the power that Jerusalem holds for so many in the world. It is indeed a power that has the potential to heal or destroy, and we were standing at the fulcrum of that mighty scale.
As I am not endeavoring to write a history of world religion, I will try in earnest to keep descriptions of the places we visited to minimum. I will rather attempt to stick with our experiences of these places. I will say that I feel that our time in Jerusalem was more than just a highlight of our trip. For me, the opportunity to absorb Jerusalem was one of the great privileges of my life. I hope that my words can come close to doing the experience justice.
Two days ago, we arrived in West Jerusalem, also called the New City, and checked into The Abraham Hostel. After about a fifteen minute walk down Jaffa Road we were circumnavigating the walls of the Old City. We decided to spend our first afternoon just wandering around to get a flavor of the place. There is no better way to do that than to enter into the Muslim Quarter via the Damascus Gate. We made our way through the narrow streets crammed with stalls and merchants. We were immediately taken with the smoothness of the rock paved roads under our feet and pondered how many others have traversed these same steps over the centuries.
Because of the narrow streets which are more like alleys, I felt like I didn’t know where I was going until I got there. Squeezing through crowds of tourists and vendors, sidestepping a seemingly out of place tractor, and then, “what’s that on the left?” “Oh its just the Eighth Station of the Cross.” “I wonder what’s through that door...The Church of the Holy Sepulchre....wow!” We visited the Western Wall and added our prayers to the cracks of the only surviving remnant of the Second Temple. Despite the crowds of pilgrims performing various rites of devotion, the place has a stillness that is profound. We took time to absorb as much as we could. As the sun set, we began to walk back to our hostel for some rest. For the following day, we had booked a four hour walking tour of Jerusalem’s most prominent holy sites. The rest would prove much needed.
It was very important to us to find a tour that did not boast of a particular religious affiliation. We were optimistic about our choice, appropriately titled, “The Holy City Tour”, as its brochure requested that guests check any prejudices at the door and come with an open mind to experience some of the holiest places of the three monotheistic religions. At eleven in the morning, we met our guide Phil at the entrance to the Jaffa Gate, and soon we were off.
Phil is an interesting guy and a fantastic guide. We came to learn that he’s from Chicago, but has been in Israel for two years living with his wife and children. He first led us to Mount Zion and the site that is believed to have been host to the Last Supper, which sits above the presumed location of King David’s tomb…talk about a one-two punch!
The Coenaculum, as it is known, is a large room built during the time of the Crusaders. The specifics of the site’s original architecture are only theoretical. However, from biblical and historical accounts, it is likely to have been the location of The Last Supper. At least, as Phil put it, those records were convincing enough to motivate the Crusaders to construct the Coenaculum and for countless numbers of the faithful to pay respect to the site over the centuries. Under Ottoman rule, the room served as a mosque. On one side of the room there is a statue of an olive tree with one large trunk and three primary branches. The tree was a gift from the last Pope and is meant as a tribute to the common origin (the trunk) of Judaism, Christianity and Islam (the three branches).
Next, we headed downstairs to the alleged Tomb of King David. I say alleged because that is how it was presented. There is certainly a large sarcophagus present, however, it is not absolutely certain as to whose remains lie in the tomb. According to Phil, the identity of the tomb has been extrapolated from some of Jesus’ words at the Last Supper. To use Phil’s words, even in the absence of definitive proof, the fact alone that millions of people have visited the site to pray provides sufficient grounds to consecrate a holy site and make the location significant. I tend to agree.
From Mount Zion we made our way across the Old City to The Church of The Holy Sepulchre. The original church was constructed in the 3rd or 4th century AD, however as is the case with much of Jerusalem, the majority of the current structure was built by the Crusaders. The Holy Sepulchre is built upon Calvary Hill and is believed to contain the sites of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and resurrection. As you may imagine, it holds a great deal of importance for many, and it is not a place to find solitude. We filed into the church amidst the masses. Upon entering the front door, we were greeted by a large, beautiful mosaic that serves both to depict the events around Jesus’ crucifixion as well as to provide a “map” of the church. At our feet was the stone slab where it is believed Jesus’ body was placed to be washed and prepared for burial. To the right of the slab, a steep staircase led to a shrine marking the top of Golgotha, where the cross would have been placed in the ground. We continued in a counter-clockwise circle around the church until we came to another shrine marking the entrance to the cave where Jesus’ body was entombed and from which he was resurrected. Quite dramatically, the high noon sun projected a streaming beam of white light through a hole in the dome above and directly onto the shrine. Continuing our circuit, we arrived back near the entrance at a modestly adorned cupola. The cupola is dedicated to The Virgin Mary, and is believed to be the location from where she observed the death of her son. My flesh tingled with goose-bumps as my mind was filled with the visual image of a mother witnessing the profound suffering of her only son. As Phil stated, it is for that experience and others like it that people visit the Holy Sepulchre. Sure, the Crusader architecture is nice, but this is not a site to visit for columns and arches. As we exited back to the street, I truly felt as if we were leaving hallowed ground.
We headed back across the city toward the Temple Mount. The streets were even more packed with people than before as we crossed from the Christian Quarter into the Jewish Quarter (there is also an Armenian Quarter for anyone keeping score). The dividing lines between the areas are not defined and rather seem to melt effortlessly one into the next. I don’t want to get overly political, but this bears mention. We hear nearly every day about violence in the Middle East and how Jews, Christians and Muslims can’t seem to get along. Yet, in a confined walled city that contains such revered ground, and which is inhabited by devout believers in each of the three faiths, there seems to be a remarkable degree of tolerance and coexistence. If they can make it work in this place that has been host to tremendous conflict over the years, why then could that not provide a model for people around the world.
Indeed, Phil touched on this notion poignantly as we waited in the security line to go up to the Temple Mount. Non-Muslims are only allowed on top of the Temple Mount, where the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque are located, during specific time periods each day. Thus, at 1:30 as the gates are opened for the afternoon session, tourists que up at the checkpoint which is located directly next to the line for entrance into the Western Wall prayer area. As we waited to enter, Phil pointed out that at this check point, you have Jewish soldiers rigorously screening all entrants in order to protect the Islamic Holy Sites on top of the Temple Mount. Thousands of people pass through these gates every week as the interests of Islam are dutifully protected by security forces from Israel. But have you ever heard that on the evening news?
The process was smooth and orderly and soon we were ascending the wooden ramp to the entrance to the third most sacred site in Islam, which happens to sit above the most revered of Hebrew holy places – the biblical Mount Moriah. Wars have been fought and much blood has been spilt over the land rights to this mound of sacred earth. This tumultuous history was completely betrayed by the supreme feeling of tranquility that was immediately evident as we walked toward The Dome of the Rock. The gold plated dome covers the rock upon which it is believed that Abraham offered his son Isaac as a sacrifice to God. It is also the location where Muslims believe The Prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven. Groups of Muslims were gathered in prayer, while others performed the ritual washing before entering Al-Aqsa Mosque. We walked slowly and in awe of the spirit of this amazing place.
Phil gathered us off to the side and pointed to the Mount of Olives and the gold plated domes of The Church of the Ascension, where it is believed by Christians that Jesus ascended to heaven. We turned around to again view the gold plated dome that marks the site where the Prophet of Islam ascended to heaven. At our feet, the location of the Hebrew First and Second Temples, and the location of the foundation stone of the world according to Jewish tradition. The common ground does not start or end there and we were reminded of the statue of the Olive Tree from the Coenaculum: one common trunk that supplies three unique but inter-dependent branches with the water of life. Those that believe in Judgment Day and the Armageddon claim that Jerusalem will be site of this closing act of humanity. But maybe, just maybe, the passion that threatens to destroy could actually be harnessed for salvation? Jerusalem has been host to so many miracles over the millennia. I am ready to believe in the potential for at least one more.
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