After a brief one night stop in Tel Aviv I decided to head to Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is considered to be one of the holiest places for the three biggest religions. Did you know that there are many similarities between these Abrahamic religions. In fact really they all branch off from the same set of beliefs. Judaism came first. Then Christianity with the addition of the New Testament, followed by Islam with the addition of the Qu’ran.
Of course this site of such religious importance has also been the reason for huge past and current conflict. All religions claim Jerusalem as their own. From the European Crusaders attacking Jerusalem in the Middle Ages to take it back from the Muslims, to Salah al Din recapturing it in the third Crusade, to the 1948 Arab war when Jordan took control of Jerusalem to the six day war in 1967 when Israeli forces recaptured Jerusalem. Even today tensions remain high over this highly contested location and certain sites are out of bounds dependent on your faith.
Of course today Jerusalem is controlled by the Jews. The Israelis. As soon as I got off the bus at Jerusalem I was surprised by the number of ultra Orthodox Jews in their top hats and long black coats, it was like stepping back in time or onto the set of a Shakespeare play.
Today all religions have access to key holy sites in Jerusalem, but their access is controlled by Israel. For Muslims their site is the ornate Al Aqsa Mosque where it is believed Prophet Muhammed ascended to heaven. For Christians it is the Church of the Holy Sephulcre built on the site Jesus was crucified and thought to be the location of his burial. For Jews it is the Western Wall otherwise known as the Wailing Wall where they come to pray. The wall is the place they believe the presence of God is closest and why they touch the wall and push written prayers into the cracks.
Not being religious myself, I was wondering if this holy destination would have some kind of spiritual effect on me.
Most travellers I met in Jerusalem had travelled here for religious reasons- many American Jews were coming to do their “birthright”- a non for profit trip funded by Israel and various Israeli business owners to find out about their heritage. A lot of posters with slogans like “America don’t worry we support you” were strewn around town maybe making the American travellers feel at home!
A lot of other travellers were coming to do pilgrimages or as part of religious tours. I was regularly asked about my beliefs and was open about being non religious. That’s not to say I don’t have my own beliefs, but they don’t lie with any religion as such, although I respect all religions and enjoy learning about them, organised religion isn’t for me. I can’t blindly follow what an old book tells me to do just because it says so.
Inside the walls…
Jerusalem has a city within a city. It’s most important section is the walled old city which houses all of the above sites of religious importance amongst many others. The walls reminded me slightly of York. I have to say I was disappointed that old Jerusalem is so touristy with lots of stalls selling various tat. It also didn’t seem particularly old- a lot of it has been rebuilt and reconstructed over the years…
Church of the Holy Sephulcre…
Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre the decor was incredibly ornate. It reminded me of the Catholic Churches in Italy rather than the stark gothic churches in England and France (which I actually prefer).
Annoyingly there were no signs in English which meant I had to do some guesswork combined with internet research to uncover the significance of various walls, tombs and stones. The crowds made it difficult to have some introspection about its significance and as a result it didn’t resonate with me like I thought it might. After all despite not being religious, the history of Jesus and his execution is emotional. I’d like to revisit when it’s quiet- maybe early morning in order to take it all in.
As I entered the Church a lot of people were weeping and praying at a giant slab of stone. I had no idea why, but later found out that this is where Jesus’s body was prepared for burial.
Further into the Church was a queue of people lining up to enter a shrine which is where apparently the tomb of Jesus is located.
I then climbed a steep set of steps inside the Church to the Rock of Calvary where Jesus was crucified. Again many people queued up to see this and get as close as possible. One man was asked to leave due to his attire- his shorts were not deemed appropriate or respectful.
Whether or not the Church is built on the correct location is under debate. The first Church on the site was built during Roman rule a good three hundred years after the death of Jesus, so whether or not the site is accurate is not definite.
Mosque al Aqsa..
The site of the Mosque isn’t just important to Muslims but to Christians and Jews as well. It is built on the mountain – Temple Mount, said to be where Adam was created – the first human on Earth. The rock at the centre of the Dome of Rock – the foundation stone is where Abraham was tested by God and almost sacrificed his son Isaac as instructed by God.
I wasn’t granted access to the Mosque. I walked up the passageway leading to it, but was blocked by Israeli soldiers holding giant guns- “No entry”. “Why?” “Do you want to be Muslim? This is for Muslims only.” “Not even for a picture?” “Stand here and take it”. And this was the photo I got. The Mosque is accessible from the outside to non Muslims but only at certain times.
Here is the Mosque in the background from the City Walls…
Western Wall…
I made my way to the Western Wall where I scribbled a note on a piece of paper. A prayer. A wish. A note of hope. Whatever you want to call it and joined the ladies section of the Wall waiting my turn to get to the front and wedge my note on one of the cracks. At the wall many women were reading from the Torah and praying intensely.
There were some noises coming from the other side of the wall which sounded like gunshots. It turned out there’d been trouble after Friday prayers at the Mosque and Israeli soldiers used stun grenades on the crowd which I am guessing is what I heard. Just as well I didn’t go to the Mosque!
Although I enjoyed my wander around the old city, I came away from it not feeling any more religious than before. Maybe quite the opposite…
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