Rick Steves has been travelling in Israel and Palestine to film a documentary about these complex and fascinating places. This is the first article in a four-part series about his impressions of the Holy Land.
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Before Columbus, many maps of the world showed Jerusalem as the centre of the world. Jerusalem 鈥� holy, treasured, and long fought over by the three great monotheistic religions 鈥� has been destroyed and rebuilt more than a dozen times. Its fabled old-town walls corral a tangle of colourful holy sites, and more than 30,000 residents 鈥� most with a deep-seated reason to live so close to such hallowed ground.
Jerusalem鈥檚 tiny historic core, a dense and complex old town, is contained within a mighty 3.2-kilometre-long Ottoman wall. The old city within is divided into four distinct quarters: Armenian, Christian, Jewish and Muslim. During my visit, I found that the old town is fraught with endless little struggles. For example, the volume of the call to prayer at local mosques is turned up high 鈥� some residents think it鈥檚 to make a statement and to annoy the Jews. And Jews buy a house in what is historically the Muslim quarter and festoon it with Israeli flags.
But the fascination of Jerusalem isn鈥檛 limited to its old town within the walls. Well beyond them lies the ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighbourhood of Mea She鈥檃rim. Kiosks sell posters of leading rabbis. Each rabbi has his own following, and the rabbi you follow influences how you live and dress. Since this population takes the Shabbat (Saturday) very seriously, Friday is a huge day as all are busy preparing for their holy day of rest.
The religious scene in Jerusalem is complicated even for tourists. Before planning our day, my guide asked me my religion. Local guides know that, among Christians interested in seeing Jesus鈥� tomb, most Protestants prefer the burial chamber outside the walls in the Garden Tomb, while Catholics prefer the tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. While I鈥檓 Lutheran, this is one case where I would definitely go with the Catholics.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is built upon the summit of Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified. Because it鈥檚 holy for all kinds of Christians, who see things differently and don鈥檛 communicate very well, it鈥檚 a cluttered religious hodgepodge of various zones 鈥� each controlled by a different sect.
While that church is important, the city鈥檚 overall religious focal point is Temple Mount 鈥� considered by many to be the closest place on Earth to God in heaven. That鈥檚 why Jews believe Abraham came here to sacrifice his son, Isaac. The golden Dome of the Rock shrine marks its summit. For Muslims, this rock marks the spot where the Prophet Muhammad journeyed to heaven. It is the third-most holy place in Islam. Muslims have worshipped here since the mid-600s, yet the first Jewish temple was built on the mount in the 10th century BC, according to Jewish scriptures.
The Western Wall, the holiest place on Earth for Jews, wasn鈥檛 designed to be that way. About 2,000 years ago, it was just the retaining wall that supported the main Jewish temple that stood upon Temple Mount. When the temple was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70, the Jewish people went into exile. Over the centuries, throughout the Diaspora, Jews returning to Jerusalem came here 鈥� to all that was left of their temple 鈥� to pray and mourn its destruction. That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 often called the Wailing Wall. The wall is divided into a men鈥檚 section and a women鈥檚 section. As part of their ritual, Jews place prayers printed on paper into cracks in the wall and stand where they鈥檝e stood since ancient times to pray.
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Next: Travelling along the Sea of Galilee.
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Rick Steves (www.ricksteves.com) writes European travel guidebooks and hosts a travel show on KCTS Seattle. Email him at [email protected] and follow his blog on Facebook.
