Jerusalem - The holy Holy city!
Jerusalem - where can one start about this unbelievable city. There are holy places and there is Jerusalem. We are not particularly spiritual but one can not not be moved by this city. The old city is less than one square kilometer and yet it has the holiest sites of all of the Abrahamic religions (Judiasm, Christianity and Islam). Considering our personal origins from the heartland of the other great spiritual undertaking of the human being i.e. the Dharmic religions, it is a double whammy for us. In the few days of our stay in this city, we got a bird's eye view of humanity in it's entirety - almost all 7 billion of us. This small piece of land has witnessed the greatest and the worst acts that the human being is capable of. This small stretch of land has been the most desired place on earth for millennia. This land has been continuously inhibited for nearly 5000 years and is among the oldest cities in the world. This place is so intense that it can affect tourists with a disease called Jerusalem Syndrome.
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Let's go chronological.
To begin with, a slideshow featuring Roman Jerusalem |
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Slideshow featuring the Jewish Jerusalem and the Old Temple of Solomon |
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A slideshow featuring the sequence of events of the Last Days of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem from the Last Supper to Ascension
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Dome of Rock, Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Western Wall
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This picture features the Dome of the Rock also called the Temple Mount, the holiest place of worship for Jews because it sits on top of the foundation stone - the pathway to heaven.
This foundation stone is also a holy spot for muslims because it is said that Prophet Mohammed took the night journey to heaven to receive the Quran from God at this spot. Smaller of the 2 black domes to the back left is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre - ths site of Nailing, Crucifixion and Tomb of Jesus Christ - yes imagine - all this inside 1 square kilometer. The Golden covering on the dome was installed by the King of Jordan (when Jerusalem was Jordanian territory) and has 80 Kilograms of Gold. |
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The Jewish graves on the Mount of Olives directly opposite Mount Zion. The graves are strategically placed to allow quick access to the home of god (temple mount) during the Day of Last Judgement after Resurrection.
The valley in-between is called the Valley of Hinnom. Incidentally, these places have significance in the Bible/Torah/Quran. Mount Zion hosts the Tomb of David and the site of The Last Supper and the Temple Mount Mount of Olives is from where Ascension of Jesus happened. This is the site of the arrest of Jesus prior to Crucifixion. The Valley of Hinnom is the valley where the apostates are supposed to have sacrificed children. The Valley of Hinnom is the origin of the word Gehinnom (Hebrew) or Jehannum (Arabic/Urdu), Hell, Land of Hades (Greek) and the origin of pharases like heinous crime in English. |
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The Greek Orthodox priest (in black) stands back and watches as the Roman Catholics (in the white) offer prayers. For the 15 minutes or so that the Roman Catholics offer prayers, the church becomes theirs. Likewise, when the Coptic and the Armenian Church representatives have their timeslots of ownership of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Amazement and respect!
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