We left Amman early in the morning. The road rushed towards the day to the Jordan River. The cold desert wind gradually gave way to warm currents rising from the green valley. The first thing I felt upon seeing the river was disappointment. In my imagination, the Jordan was a powerful stream with wide open banks. Here, in fact, there was hardly a river at all - just a bushy valley with a small stream and the huge King Hussein Bridge, which we were to cross into Israel.
Then there were long wanderings in the labyrinths of barbed wire in search of the checkpoint. The sluggishness of the Arab border guards, who examined our passports several times as if they were some kind of curiosity, was irritating. And finally, the coveted stamp, and our bus was driving through the barbed corridor to the Israeli side of the Jordan.
Here the atmosphere was more ceremonial, but it was not so simple either. A thorough inspection of luggage, passport checks, and even a detailed conversation. The questions varied: where were you born, who did you marry, why did you come, and why from this side, what did you do in Jordan? In short, this entire lie detector took two hours.
- That’s how it’s done, - said our guide Anatoly, who met us at the border. - We live surrounded by Arab countries, which are irritated by the presence of Jews on this land. We have many enemies and envious people who do not like Israel’s successes...
It was very warm. Along the road, cacti and oleanders were blooming, behind which stretched hills with sparse shrubs and lifeless, sun-scorched valleys. Here you have it, the Promised Land, I thought, looking at this harsh lifeless landscape.
It was about 60 kilometers to Jerusalem - our first port of call in the Promised Land. The bus easily climbed the ascent, slowly lifting us to the heart of the sacred land. Anatoly combined the roles of guide and driver, which was convenient for both us and, probably, the tour operator in terms of expenses.
From the very first minutes, Anatoly began to shine with deep knowledge of the history, culture, and geography of Israel. Perhaps this somehow changed my perception of Israel. I must admit that, having seen and felt everything, as they say, with my own eyes and feelings, I was filled with the deepest respect for the ancient, long-suffering, and noble people.
The city of Jerusalem is referred to in various ways: the center of the world, the city of three religions, the holy city, and even the city of cities.
Jerusalem is one of the oldest cities in the world, with a history spanning over three thousand years. At different times, it was called by different names: Jebus, Shalem (Jebus), Capitolina, Al-Bayt al-Muqaddas (Holy House), and Al-Quds al-Sharif (Noble).
Jebus is the oldest name for Jerusalem. It is related to the Jebusites - the population of this area, descended from the first Arabs from the Arabian Peninsula. Jerusalem was slightly larger than a tiny mountain settlement in the Judean desert when David captured it from the Jebusites in 1005 BC and proclaimed it the capital of the Israelite kingdom, which stretched from the Red Sea in the south to the Euphrates River in the north. When David's son Solomon built the first temple within the city walls and placed there the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses, Jerusalem became a holy city for the Jewish people.
For a long time, scholars have sought and found no answer to the question: why did this modest city, by world standards, become famous worldwide? After all, its geographical location lacks the elements that made other world capitals great cities. It is not situated on the banks of a navigable river or strait like Paris or Istanbul. The nearest seaport is dozens of kilometers away. Its water sources are scarce and unreliable. The Great Silk Road and other trade routes did not pass through here.
There is no gold or rare minerals in its depths, the surrounding land is desert and not particularly fertile. So why has Jerusalem not disappeared in the endless fires of history? Why has its fate turned out differently than that of many vanished contemporaries?
The beauty and grandeur of Jerusalem lie in the hearts of those who love it, who know about the patriarchs who lived in Jerusalem, about its kings—philosophers and biblical prophets who made it their center. Their wisdom and holiness emanated from Jerusalem to the world and changed it. The concepts of monotheism (the doctrine of one God), good and evil, justice, brotherly love, and the rule of law—these are concepts that originated in Jerusalem and became the cornerstone of modern civilization.
In Jerusalem, one can observe the life of three religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. As well as the centuries-old history of this city, which cannot be compared to any other city on Earth. Jerusalem is the center of the world, so its inhabitants believe, and that says it all.
Undoubtedly, Jerusalem has its own mystery, which it proudly carries through the ages. Sometimes a chance tourist manages to touch it, to see it out of the corner of their eye, and to understand what perhaps kings Solomon and Jesus knew. They knew, but did not manage to convey their knowledge to our days.
Jerusalem is the city of David, who united the country in the 10th century BC, declaring Jerusalem the capital of the kingdom of Israel. This is the city of Solomon, who built the temple and forever established the city as the eternal center of monotheism. Jerusalem was the site of Jesus' last ministry and his crucifixion.
Thus, listening to Anatoly's interesting story about the main city of the world, we quietly reached the borders of Jerusalem.
The first place we will start our acquaintance with the ancient city is the Mount of Olives, from where a magical panorama of the city and the distant Judean hills opens up, as well as a panorama of history, emerging through the veil of time.
From my diary. Jerusalem is a holy city. Where else in the world can you see one temple built over another or using part of the previous structures? Old Jerusalem is like a layered cake of history. It’s frightening to think: thirty centuries stand a city that has flourished, died, and been reborn countless times. Here, every stone, every step is a shrine and a landmark...
Our next stop is the Temple Mount, the historical and spiritual center of Jerusalem. For Jews, this is the holiest place on Earth. The rock in the center of the Temple Mount is the place where Abraham was to sacrifice his son Isaac. Solomon built the First Temple here, which was destroyed by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in 587 BC. The city was burned and plundered. Jewish exiles who returned here after 67 years (520 BC) rebuilt the temple, which stood for over 500 years. In 19 BC, it was rebuilt again, this time by King Herod the Great, whose name is forever associated with the events referred to in the Gospel as the "slaughter of the innocents." According to Scripture, he ordered the extermination of an entire generation of male infants upon hearing of the birth of a child destined to become the King of the Jews. This temple stood until 70 AD and was destroyed by the Romans in retaliation for the uprising against them.
Since the time of the Second Jerusalem Temple, only a part of the western retaining wall, known as the Wailing Wall, has survived to this day. For two thousand years, these meager remnants of the foundations of the Jewish temples have been and remain the most revered object of worship and prayer for the Jewish people.
Six hundred years after the destruction of Herod's temple, Muslim rulers built the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock on this site, which has come to be known as Omar's mosque. The Dome of the Rock is one of the most beautiful structures in the world, built over the rock that defines the center of the world. According to Muslim sources, it was from here that the prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. The Dome of the Rock was built in 691 AD by Caliph Abd al-Malik and has never been destroyed in its history. The Al-Aqsa Mosque, built in the early 8th century, is the third in the list of the holiest places of Islamic pilgrimage after the sanctities of Mecca and Medina.
Via Dolorosa
Along the city wall, we walk to the Lion's Gate to enter the Muslim quarter of the old city. The cobbled street is filled with souvenir vendors. In the hustle and bustle of the Eastern market, you really don’t understand where you have ended up now: in the holy city or in the tale of Ali Baba and the 40 thieves. However, it is here that the famous Via Dolorosa begins, the sorrowful path of Jesus, along which the Son of God walked through mockery and scourging to the place of his execution - Golgotha. On his wounded shoulders, he bore the Cross, which is nothing but the sins of humanity. Along the entire Via Dolorosa, according to biblical traditions, various events occurred directly related to the name of Christ. At each such event, the terrible procession was interrupted. Fourteen such stops—stations have been canonized. Each of them is marked by churches, chapels, and memorial plaques.
As we ascend the street, we come to the El-Omaria school. Here is the first stop on Christ's sorrowful path. In fact, this is where the Via Dolorosa begins. From this stop, every Friday at three o'clock in the afternoon, Franciscan fathers hold a procession. And two thousand years ago, there was the Roman Praetorium. In its northeastern corner stood the Tower of Antonia, where, according to biblical tradition, the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate condemned Christ.
Now, on the site of the former Roman Praetorium stands the Catholic Sisters of Zion convent. The lower step of the marble staircase leading to the Monastery Gate has survived from Roman times. The arches of the monastery rooms include remnants of sculptural decorations and columns from the early centuries of our era. The walls of the church are adorned with modern mosaic paintings. Their theme is the biblical legend of the trial of Jesus. In the depths of the church, in a niche above the altar, stands a white stone statue of Christ with a crown of thorns and bound hands.
Here, in the square in front of the Praetorium, to the right is the second station marked by the Chapel of the Scourging, the place where Christ was scourged and the Cross was laid on his back.
Further, the Via Dolorosa street sharply turns left at the building of the Armenian Patriarchate. Here is the third station. At this place, Christ fell for the first time. This event is marked by a small Catholic chapel. Above its entrance is a relief depicting Christ collapsing under the weight of the Cross.
We walk a little further along the stone pavement of the Via Dolorosa and see a door in the wall of the chapel. Here, according to tradition, Christ met his mother. Above the entrance is a painting depicting this meeting.
At the corner of El-Wad and Via Dolorosa stands a Franciscan chapel in memory of the fifth stop of Christ on the Way of the Cross. Here Simon of Cyrene took up the Cross and carried it further, under the weight of which Christ was collapsing. In the wall near the entrance to the chapel is a deep indentation. According to tradition, this is the imprint of Christ's hand.
The narrow winding street leads further towards the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We cross El-Bayram street, which goes left from Via Dolorosa, and find ourselves at the chapel of Veronica. Here, a woman named Veronica wiped the sweat and blood from Christ's forehead. Because of this, the church canonized her as a saint.
Next, we move to the intersection with Sukhan-es-Zain street. Here, at the corner is the entrance to the Franciscan chapel. To the left is the remnant of a column marking the place where Christ fell for the second time.
Many of the houses and shops along this street bear the imprint of distant Roman times—stucco, stone monoliths in the walls, arches, and frescoes... Our path along this street leads to a wide staircase.
Climbing up it, we turn right and arrive at the entrance to the Coptic monastery. At the entrance to the monastery, in a shallow niche, is a leaning column that marks the place where Christ fell for the third time. The remaining five stations are located in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Having walked the sorrowful path and listening to Anatoly's account of Jesus' experiences, you feel a deep sense of connection to events that you previously regarded with skepticism.
From my diary. Was it all real? Or was this entire sorrowful path, the Cross on Jesus' back, the sentence of Pontius Pilate, Veronica with the cloth, the terrible execution, the Ascension—just fantasies of the evangelists? This is a question I would have answered unequivocally just a few days ago, saying that all of this was the invention of church ministers and religious fanatics. However, today, having walked the sorrowful path of Jesus, I cannot answer so categorically. Something stirred in my heart, penetrated my soul, evoking compassion and sadness. Here, in the ancient walls of old Jerusalem, memory does not fade; it hovers through its streets in a mist of history, penetrating the soul and mind. All these symbols, chapels, churches, prayers, the endless stream of people who have come here from all over the world, make you ponder, tuning into the wave, perhaps, of your own connection to the events of the distant past.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre
The Byzantine Emperor Constantine the Great proclaimed Christianity the official religion of his state. This partly happened at the insistence of his mother Helena, who visited the Holy Land three centuries after the events related to Jesus. On this site, where she believed Jesus was crucified and buried, Constantine erected the magnificent Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 335 AD.
Today it is shared by six Christian denominations: Greek Orthodox, Armenian, Ethiopian, Syrian, Roman Catholic, and Coptic. The Copts own a tiny chapel behind Christ's tomb. The chapel at the entrance belongs to the Armenians. Among the holy sites is the Stone of Anointing, where, it is believed, Jesus' body was laid after being taken down from the cross, and the rock of Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified. It is located at the Greek Orthodox church. The huts located on the roof form a small church claimed by the Syrians and Ethiopians.
For possession of certain rights and privileges in this most important shrine of the Christian world, there has long been fierce competition between the denominations.
Several hundred years ago, the key to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was entrusted to two Muslim families - Joudi and Nusseibeh. One holds the key, while the other locks and unlocks the door. Every night, a representative of the Nusseibeh family locks the door of the temple, as his ancestors have done for the past 400 years.
From my diary. Perhaps I am mistaken, but it seems to me that here, in old Jerusalem, the local Arabs view religion more as commerce. This thought comes to mind when the Via Dolorosa crosses the market of the Muslim quarter. Countless stalls and shops sell both Christian and Jewish symbols. Here are sets of crosses and icons, pieces chipped off the Wailing Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, candles, figurines, prayer books, and icons. If you are unsure about what to buy before entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a gold-toothed Arab, who is always present in the shop, will explain to you what is best to buy, where, and how to bless it so that everything is according to the religion. Interestingly, only here can you find pork for sale, which is forbidden in Judaism and Islam.
On Easter Saturday before dawn, the fire in the lamps that illuminate the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is extinguished. The doors of the church open, and thousands of pilgrims rush inside to witness the miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire, which has been repeated annually for many centuries. The day before, Christ's tomb is sealed. When the seal is removed, the patriarch enters to ensure that the Holy Fire, which is believed to be sent by the Lord, will ignite this year. And the symbol of Christ's resurrection—the Holy Fire—spreads among the rejoicing crowd.
We too, having squeezed through the dense ranks of pilgrims, lit a whole bundle of thin candles with the flame of the Lord, which we immediately extinguished, preserving the holiness of the fire within them. And although many years have passed since our visit to Jerusalem, the sacred flame, igniting annually during holidays and special celebrations, reminds us of the great and sacred city of Jerusalem.