In honor of Easter Weekend, today’s post is about our recent trip to one of the holiest cities and three of the holiest sites in the world. First thing you should know about me is that I am not religious and I don’t go to any sort of “place of worship.” I was raised Christian, my husband was raised Jewish, neither of us practice or consider ourselves religious (although we are spiritual) so I will try and steer away from any religious thoughts and stick to the sites and experience instead!
If you didn’t already know, the city I am talking about is Jerusalem and the sites we visited were the Western Wall, Temple Mount, and Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Having been to Israel several times, we had already been to the Western Wall once, but we didn’t visit the other sites which are all in close proximity to each other.
The “Old City” is divided into 4 Quarters – the Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Armenian quarter and each has its own religious site and its own rows of shops and restaurants (honestly I can never tell when we are in the Armenian Quarter). It can be difficult to know when you leave one quarter and enter the next but a few things can clue you in like their close proximity to their holy site. There is a ton of incense and candle burning in the Christian Quarter, the Jewish Quarter is a bit cleaner and spaced out with some ruins mixed into some streets, and you’ll see a lot more Yads (hands that signify the blessing of the home) and menorahs, and the Muslim Quarter is the largest, most crowded and seems to connect to everything.
We parked at the nearby mall and walked the short distance to the Jaffa Gate entrance to the city (which is also where we took our Bridal Portraits!) While there are “walls” all along the Old City, the Kotel or specific “Western Wall” is only a short walk away, easily found with regularly spaced signs. There are security checkpoints at all of the entrances as well as personnel making sure you have your knees and shoulders covered. (The first time we went, I was literally in the process of covering my shoulders when 2 different people yelled at me to cover my shoulders.)
The Wall was built in 20 BCE and wasn’t originally as important as it has been for the last few hundred years because the Temple that they enclosed was the actual holy site, however the Romans razed the temple in 70 BCE and the Wall was mostly hidden for many years. Only more recently (last few hundred years?) have people prayed at the Wall and left small pieces of paper with their prayers and thoughts. Both times we have visited, I left my own thoughts in the Wall. In fact, the Temple Mount is actually the holiest place in Judaism but they are not allowed to pray there. The areas for men and women to pray at the Wall are separated and you will see people on both sides sitting and praying at the Wall. In recent years they have opened up a Tunnel Tour that takes you beneath the Wall and well into the history of the land which is really interesting. On certain days there will be Bar Mitzvahs at the Wall too which are kind of interesting to watch (especially if you have never seen one!)
You can see the Temple Mount from the Kotel but you are required to go through a separate security screening at the Mughrabi Gate first where they will ask you your religion as well as make sure you are aware you cannot pray at the site. This is the site that Jews believe that Abraham almost sacrificed his son, and it was the site of the First Temple of the Jews. It is the third holiest site in Islam and Muslims believe it is where Muhammad ascended to Divine Presence. The most prominent site is the gold-tipped Dome of the Rock.
Once we walked through, more Israeli security pulled me aside and handed me an even longer skirt to wear over my dress. Every entrance/exit to the Temple Mount had security and a stack of skirts. There have been many cases of Muslims protesting the presence of non-Muslims at the site, some of which have been extremely violent, so you definitely want to gauge the political environment before heading here. Security made sure to tell us not to touch anything “or even drink from the water fountains.” Nonetheless the site was very calm and beautiful when we were there. The tiles on the building are spectacular and it was cool to see up close what I had only seen from afar until that point. I am sure the inside is even more beautiful (non-Muslims are not allowed inside).
After the Temple Mount, we made our way to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is believed to be where Jesus was crucified and is said also to contain the place where Jesus was buried. The Church was the most crowded of the three sites – just completely overwhelmed with people and tours – and it was also the least concerned with clothing.
There were no guards or checkpoints making sure you didn’t have this or that covered (which I appreciated). When you first walk into the Church you will see people kneeling at the Stone of Anointing – which is where they believe Jesus’ body was laid and prepared for burial. People kneel and pray on this stone, touching it and leaving their notes and prayers much like the Western Wall. I didn’t leave a prayer but I did touch the stone.
After the Stone, you turn the corner and arrive at Edicule aka the actual tomb of Jesus. The wait to get inside of the Edicule to see the tomb was at least a two hour so we didn’t wait but I did take a couple photos from the outside. From what I gather, it may not be the actual site but as they can’t really pinpoint it, they have used this area of the church for over a thousand years.
On my way out I headed to the upper floor to an incredible beautiful and ornate chapel. This area was apparently “Calvary or Golgotha” which is what Christians call the site where Jesus was crucified. The church is a maze, it is seriously massive and, as I mentioned before, totally packed…which definitely sped up my visit in a rush to get out of the crowds of people.
It was really interesting visiting such important religious sites to the three major religions all in one day. Even if you are not religious, I definitely think it is a worthwhile way to spend your day and learn about the history of the area. It is certainly unfortunate how many people have died at these sites over the last few thousands of years.
After the sight-seeing, we continued to walk through the quarters for shopping and getting down on some hummus and falafel. Definitely don’t leave the city without getting some delicious food at the local spots!
Have questions? Leave them in the comments below!
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Kali