I’m beginning to realize this city would take weeks if not months to comprehend… The Old City alone could consume my life, and just by walking around over the last few days, I can see multiple topics that would make for an interesting study.
First stop today was Dome of the Rock which is on the Temple Mount, as well as the foundations of the two previous temples that were destroyed at different points in the last 3000 years. Here, the Dome of the Rock (what my Lonely Planet Guide Book calls one of the most photographed buildings of all time) and the Al-Aqsa Mosque along with many other buildings from various stages of history lie on a site that is incredibly important in Judaism and Islam. Under the Dome of the Rock (which is inaccessible to visitors who aren’t Muslim) is the supposed place where Mohammed transcended to pray with Allah, where Abraham was about to sacrifice his son before being stopped during the 11th hour, and where caliph Abd al-Malik wanted to trump the Church of the Holy Sepulcher as it was convincing many in the area to convert to Christianity (hence the brilliant color).Below the Temple Mount to the west is the famous “Western Wall” which you can see in the photo is the Jewish place of pilgrimage. Some of the massive stones that make up the wall have remained since the first and second temple periods. The wall is divided between men and women prayer areas, and it’s said that placing a note in the cracks between walls gives the wish/prayer a better chance of becoming true.
Afterwards, I went in search of the Museum of the Seam which is located on the former UN-controlled buffer zone that divided Israel from East Jerusalem (until 1967) in a formerly beautiful building turned military post (with long narrow windows and bullet holes in the masonry). The museum has a great exhibit of contemporary art, photography, and films that I felt related very closely to my research in Cyprus as well as my interest in sustainability. It seemed as though its main message was to force its viewers to think about the war that humankind is having with itself (civil war and political unrest) as well as humankind’s war with the natural world.
From there I continued on to the Mount of Olives, stopping at the sites of Gethsemane, Mary’s tomb, International Hotel, as well as Chapel of the Ascension, Dominus Flevit, Pater Noster and Agony (at Gethsemane). The Mount of Olives is a hillside just to the east of the old city where many parts of the Bible and Torah take place. The following is brief explanation of each:Gethsemane - is said to have been the site at which Jesus is said to have been arrested. What I found most interesting about this place was not the 20th century church, which is also known as All Nations church, but rather the supposedly 2000+ year old olive trees that still sit in the courtyard outside the church that are known as silent witnesses to all these biblical events.
International Hotel – Built During the Jordanian Occupation of East Jerusalem directly above the mass cemetery where Jews pay large sums of money to be buried on because they are believed to have a front row seat to be saved upon the return of the Messiah.
Dominus Flevit – Fransiscan Chapel from the mid 20th century on the supposed spot where Jesus looked down upon Jerusalem and wept
Pater Noster – The site where Jesus is said to have taught his disciples the Lord’s Prayer, hence the reason they have the Prayer posted around the courtyard of the monastery in over 100 different languages, including multiple languages in brail.
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