I immediately liked being in Jerusalem from stepping off the train. Felt a special place to be. The station is deep underground - massive escalators - huge echo chambers. What made it more special was the man playing classical music on a grand piano - reverberating - as we made our way out from stepping off the train. I found it emotional - sombre. Made me think of the holocaust. Exit outside to the tramway. The destination map seemed complex (I subsequently found out most of it has yet to be built). If you get on a tram going in the right direction you are bound to get to your stop!
I am staying in a pod hostel outside the walls of the old city. Jerusalem is busy but up together. Lots of places to eat. The weather is nice. Cafe culture everywhere. A shortish walk - I am there in no time. Not long to settle in and get some advice from the lovely people running the hostel. I head out for a wander. I liked Jerusalem so much. Tourists yes - but locals too - a real place. I buy a fantastic pitta stuffed with hummus salad and falafels and just sat there in the sun watching people going by. Amazing really.
Here is a description of my time in the Old City (walled). I went there on three occasions - twice under my own steam as I got my bearings and one of them on a guided full day tour.
First a something about the history of Jerusalem.
Israelis
This remarkable diagram demonstrates how long and complex the history of Jerusalem is. It is not hard to see why it is impossible to settle ownership. I was going to write up a history myself - but time is an issue for me now because I have been slow doing my homework and another trip is pressing. Therefore this comes from Wikipedia :-
Jerusalem is a city in Western Asia situated on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the oldest cities in the world and is considered to be a holy city for the three major Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Both Israel and Palestinians claim Jerusalem as their capital, as Israel maintains its primary governmental institutions there and the State of Palestine ultimately foresees it as its seat of power. Because of this dispute, neither claim is widely recognized internationally.
Throughout its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times, captured and recaptured 44 times, and attacked 52 times. The part of Jerusalem called the City of David shows first signs of settlement in the 4th millennium BCE, in the shape of encampments of nomadic shepherds. During the Canaanite period (14th century BCE), Jerusalem was named as Urusalim on ancient Egyptian tablets, probably meaning "City of Shalem" after a Canaanite deity. During the Israelite period, significant construction activity in Jerusalem began in the 9th century BCE (Iron Age II), and by the 8th century BCE, the city had developed into the religious and administrative centre of the Kingdom of Judah.In 1538, the city walls were rebuilt for a last time around Jerusalem under Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire. Today those walls define the Old City, which has been traditionally divided into four quarters – known since the early 19th century as the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim quarters.The Old City became a World Heritage Site in 1981, and is on the List of World Heritage in Danger.Since 1860, Jerusalem has grown far beyond the Old City's boundaries. In 2022, Jerusalem had a population of some 971,800 residents, of which almost 60% were Jews and almost 40% Palestinians. In 2020, the population was 951,100, of which Jews comprised 570,100 (59.9%), Muslims 353,800 (37.2%), Christians 16,300 (1.7%), and 10,800 unclassified (1.1%).
According to the Hebrew Bible, King David conquered the city from the Jebusites and established it as the capital of the United Kingdom of Israel, and his son, King Solomon, commissioned the building of the First Temple. Modern scholars argue that Jews branched out of the Canaanite peoples and culture through the development of a distinct monolatrous—and later monotheistic—religion centred on El/Yahweh.These foundational events, straddling the dawn of the 1st millennium BCE, assumed central symbolic importance for the Jewish people.The sobriquet of holy city (Hebrew: עיר הקודש, romanized: 'Ir ha-Qodesh) was probably attached to Jerusalem in post-exilic times.The holiness of Jerusalem in Christianity, conserved in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible,which Christians adopted as their own "Old Testament" was reinforced by the New Testament account of Jesus's crucifixion and resurrection there. In Sunni Islam, Jerusalem is the third-holiest city, after Mecca and Medina.The city was the first qibla, the standard direction for Muslim prayers (salah),and in Islamic tradition, Muhammad made his Night Journey there in 621, ascending to heaven where he speaks to God, according to the Quran.As a result, despite having an area of only 0.9 km2 (3⁄8 sq mi), the Old City is home to many sites of seminal religious importance, among them the Temple Mount with its Western Wall, Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Today, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the core issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, West Jerusalem was among the areas captured and later annexed by Israel while East Jerusalem, including the Old City, was captured and later annexed by Jordan. Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently effectively annexed it into Jerusalem, together with additional surrounding territory. One of Israel's Basic Laws, the 1980 Jerusalem Law, refers to Jerusalem as the country's undivided capital. All branches of the Israeli government are located in Jerusalem, including the Knesset (Israel's parliament), the residences of the Prime Minister (Beit Aghion) and President (Beit HaNassi), and the Supreme Court. The international community rejects the annexation as illegal and regards East Jerusalem as Palestinian territory occupied by Israel.
I am now going to cover my guided tour day to the old walled city.
Just to reiterate from an earlier blog - I am not religious - I am an atheist. However I was brought up in a Christian country and my childhood was marked by the nativity and the crucifixion stories particularly. We had wonderful colourful story books as young children and of course we acted out the nativity plays. It therefore gave me pleasure and a degree of satisfaction to visit the sites where these things were meant to have happened. As importantly the city of Jerusalem fascinates me and it was interesting to see in the real some of the places that appear on our televisions and reported about in the news so frequently.
The start of our visit was outside the old city - the Mount of Olives. The hill itself is covered with graves - it is the most significant cemetery in Israel. Jews believe this is where the resurrection of the dead will begin. At the bottom of the hill we visited the Garden of Gethsename - the site of Jesus's agony, prayer and betrayal by Judas. Adjacent to the garden is The Church of All Nations - which retains a rock where Jesus prayed. The church is also holds the Tomb of the Virgin Mary.
We then head up to the Dung Gate - to enter the old city of Jerusalem. As we approach the Dung Gate we get a relatively close view of The Dome of the Rock - the centre piece of Temple Mount - maybe the most controversial place in the world. Why?
This is the Al Aqsa Mosque - the 3rd most important Islamic site in the world. However the Jews claim the Mosque is built over the Foundation stone - where the first and second temples built by the Jews stood before being destroyed by the Babylonians and then the Romans. The Jews claim the Foundation stone marks the exact spot the where God created Adam - where it all began.
Go through the Dung Gate and you are almost at the Western Wall - the Wailing Wall. This is a massive landmark for me - a much reported place - seen hundreds of times in the news over the years as the symbol of Jews in Israel. I cannot believe I am here. Am I wise to be here given the history of random violence between Arabs and Jews over this site!? There is airport like security checks at the Dung Gate. The area is not massively busy - we are briefed about how to conduct ourselves. I go down to the foot of the Western Wall after washing my hands ceremoniously and donning a compulsory hat or kippah to pray or whatever. - amazing. Why is the Western Wall so significant to the Jews? It is the closest place on earth they can get to their God. The wall is part of the otherwise long demolished and built over second Temple. It is their most significant and important site and a place of pilgrimage for Jews for hundreds of years. It is referred to as The Wailing Wall for the sorrowful laments at the loss of the Temple.
So there you have it - the intractable problem - the irony of ironies - it can never be settled in my opinion. The Jewish most sacred place and the Muslim 3rd most sacred spot is the same spot. Neither will never concede their desire to pilgrimage and pray there.
For myself I was acutely aware of the significance to many people of praying at the wall. I approached with reverence. I conducted myself properly. I did not pray to God but I did make a wish. I stood there for 10 minutes facing and touching the wall. It was moving. As advised I stepped back. I did not turn my back on the wall. It is done.
Next we are going to follow the steps of Jesus as he carried his crucifix through the windey crowded chaotic streets of old Jerusalem to Calvary! It is called the Via Delorosa ( way of sorrowful suffering ). The route starts near The Lion Gate (where Jesus was condemned to death) in the Muslim Quarter and finishes at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Christian Quarter. It is marked by 14 Stations (5 are within the C of the H S) of the cross where significant things happened as Jesus carried the cross to his crucifixion.
The church is a complicated place as it is shared by different branches of Christians ie Greek Orthodox, Armenians and Catholics. The first thing you see when you enter is the Unction Stone - where Jesus's body was prepared for burial. Up some narrow steps takes you to a very ornate area and I was able to touch the rock of Calvary where the cross stood. Downstairs to the west is The Rotunda - which is revered as holding the tomb of Christ from where he was resurrected. Obviously what I am writing is a quick precis. It is a good story - I am satisfied something happened here that was meaningful to a lot of people. But as I have said I do not believe there is an all knowing God.
Here are some mob photos from my time in and around Jerusalem :-
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| The Old city wall from Gethsemane and Mount of Olives Cemetery |
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| Church of All Nations |
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| Garden of Gethsemane |
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| Mount of Olives |
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| Approaching the Old City. Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque |
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| The Western Wall - Wailing Wall |
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| Walking the Via Dolorosa |
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| Below one of the 14 "stations" |
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| Approaching the Church of the Holy Sepulchre |
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| Lutheran Church of the Redeemer |
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| Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Unction Stone |
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| On Calvary |
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| Calvary where Jesus was crucified |
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| The Greek Cathedral within the Church. The Rotunda behind where Jesus rose from the dead. |
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| Zion Gate - to the Jewish Quarter. See the bullet marks from the 6 day war when Israel took Jerusalem back from Jordanian rule. |
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| The Old City wall and views out over wider Jerusalem |
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| Approaching Zion Gate and scenes within. |
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| Common place to see heavily armed conscripted young Israelis |
