On our first full day in The Holy Land, we set off early in the morning to see the holiest sites for Jews, Muslims, and Christians. As a non-religious person, I never realized just how close in proximity these are and how contested the borders between them can be. The Western Wall (Wailing Wall), Haram Al-Sharif (site of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock), and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, along with most of the Stations of the Cross, are located within less than one square mile within the Old City in Jerusalem.
The walls around the Old City that are seen today date to the 1500s, when the site was part of the Ottoman Empire. We came to the Wailing Wall first, where women and men have designated sides of a partition in which they can approach the wall and pray or slip wishes or prayers on paper into the wall itself. There were many already praying when we arrived early in the morning and many of our group joined.
I only walked in to the prayer area for a moment and didn’t feel comfortable taking photos of people praying in this location. For some reason later on, I felt more ok with photographing the Christian holy sites including worshippers, even though I am neither Christian nor Jewish. Since it was more crowded perhaps it seemed less formal to me. For this reason, I have far more photos of the Muslim and Christian sites.
Heading back out of the Jewish area where we entered, there is a covered wooden ramp with a small security check at the top where bags are scanned before entering the area surrounding the Dome of the Rock. We skipped the security line since our guide seems to know everyone and, unfortunately, announced that we were American as a means to get us past the line. I didn’t realize this was what was going on at first, but I was upset that we did it even though we were in a hurry. I really felt the hostility from fellow tourists from around the world and the unfairness of physically acting out the dynamics of much of our American daily behavior in relation to others around the world.
When we entered the area beyond the check, called Haram Al-Sharif, and saw some bored looking Israeli security guards directly inside (one is yawning in the photo slideshow below). The obvious centerpiece is the Dome of the Rock, the third holiest site for Muslims next to Mecca and Medina.
Directly across is the historic Al-Aqsa Mosque, which was the site of a controversial visit by Sharon in 2000, which was met with riots and the eventual deaths of 5 Palestinians at the site, helping to launch the 2nd intifada. In the open space adjacent to the mosque, large circles of Muslim women study the Koran. Our guide explained that while they could study anywhere, their study here is a form of nonviolent resistance against Israeli expansion into the holy sites in East Jerusalem. He mentioned that when Jewish settlers arrive in the plaza, they loudly chant “Allahu Akbar” (God is the greatest) as a way to mark the territory and make a statement that they are here to stay. Just after his explanation, we saw for ourselves.
From there, we walked through the Old City markets, winding through the Muslim and Jewish Quarters to make our way to the Christian Quarter and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This most important pilgrimage site for Christians is held to be the location of the crucifixion and also holds the sepulcher, the tomb where Jesus was buried. The Via Dolorosa ends here after winding through the Old City where each Station of the Cross is marked with a Roman numeral and brief description.
The politics of religion can be seen all around amongst the devoted pilgrims of all three faiths at worship. The Church of the Resurrection, as it’s also known, is owned by the Greek Orthodox Church, which owns much of the property in East Jerusalem, but is tenanted by five denominations which share the space in a hierarchy based upon their legacy there, the amount they pay, and their overall sway in the city. The video above shows one example of the tension between Muslims and Jews and the sites themselves are layered on top of one another over time, each excavating another’s history in order to unearth their own.
As a former student of art history and architecture, it was fascinating to see these famous sites in person. I was disappointed to miss the interior of the Dome of the Rock (as only Muslims can enter today), but I have seen pictures and I was happy for my one delegation partner who’s Muslim who looked blown away by the experience when he came out. While I don’t understand the religious motivations behind the power struggles at play, I was able to see how they do and don’t interact with the political and to appreciate the glow of the believers who were having transformative experiences all around me, even if I wasn’t, and despite my personal reservations about organized religion.
You will be able to see more photos from the Temple Mount and surroundings on the Photos page, along with a gallery of photos from inside the Old City, mostly from the Muslim and Jewish Quarters.
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