Jerusalem diary – A city steeped in history
7th February, 2009
Day two – Morning:
I WOKE up this morning to the sound of the Azahn coming from the Al-Aqsa mosque.
It was pretty impressive and I was almost tempted to ring my mum so she can listen too.
From the rooftop of our terrace we could see the Dome of the Rock and the rest of the city.
I’m in a state of awe at the moment, the seven hours waiting at Tel-Aviv seems to have been worth it just to get this view.
I feel I have travelled back thousands of years as I look at the rooftops of mosques, churches and old washed walls glazing in the morning sun…pretty amazing is all I can say.
This is one city steeped in history and it shows all around. Our Christian run hostel, Ecce Homo Convent, run by the sisters of Zion is also stood on top of history as excavation work is currently taking place underneath the convent where an ancient roman road has been discovered.
This is just one of many excavation works being carried out in this old city which makes this trip even more interesting.
Evening
I’VE had quite an overwhelming day, after a 9am start we left the convent to take a walk through the sanctuary to the Western Wall also known as the Wailing Wall.
The Wailing Wall is the remains of the great Jewish temple, which had stood for close to 500 years. Herod began rebuilding and adding on to the temple in approximately 19 B.C.E., and the total work was not finished until fifty years later. The temple itself was destroyed by the Romans only a few years after its completion, circa 70 C.E.
It is thought by Jews to be the most sacred of places, because the temple itself was thought to be the place where God resides on earth. Praying at the Wailing Wall signifies being in the presence of the Divine. Jews from all countries, and as well as other religious backgrounds, come to pray at the wall, where it is said one immediately has the “ear of god.” Those who cannot pray at the wall can send prayers or ask for the Kaddish to be said for departed loved ones. Prayers sent in are placed into the cracks of the walls and are called tzetzels.
Only the bottom seven layers of the original stones of the Wailing Wall remain, but the sheer length of the wall impresses visitors. The excavated cornerstones are close to 50 tons (approximately 45t). Although none of us are Jewish we felt a feeling of the sacred when viewing the wall. Whether viewed by the religious or non-religious, the Wailing Wall is an awesome structure, significantly rich in history both good and bad.
Me and some of the female members of our group managed to get close to the wall and I immediately found a small crack in the wall to place a prayer.
As it was Friday, Muslim holy day, we went back to the hostel to get ready for Friday prayers at Masjid Al-Aqsa. Unfortunately – non-Muslims were not allowed in today so the rest of the group went to explore the surrounding walls of the sanctuary.
The Al-Aqsa mosque translates as the Farthest Mosque.
Ten years after the Prophet Mohammad received his first revelation, he made a miraculous night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem and to the Seven Heavens on a white flying horse called Al-Buraq El-Sharif. During his interval in Jerusalem, the Prophet stopped to pray at the rock (now covered by the golden Dome), and was given the commandment to pray five times a day.
Today, Muslims throughout the World use Mecca as the direction of prayers (Qibla). However, for 16½ months following the Prophet Mohammad’s miraculous journey, Jerusalem was the Qibla.
During Prophet Mohammad’s life, he instructed Muslims to visit not only the mosque where they lived in Mecca, but also the ‘Farthest mosque’ from them, which lay 2000 kilometres north, in Jerusalem. Hence the name Al-Masjid El-Aqsa, or Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is the second oldest mosque in Islam after the Kaba in Mecca, and is third in holiness and importance after the mosques in Mecca and Medina.
As it was Friday thousands of people including hundreds of women descend to the mosque to pray. With so many people to cater for, the men pray at the Al-Aqsa mosque and the women pray in the Dome of the Rock, which is opposite the Al-Aqsa. This is the first time I’ve done the Friday prayer so it was quite an amazing and new experience for me. The Dome was filled with hundreds of women, young and old, who on finding out I was from England and it was my first visit took me aside, handed me a copy of the Quran and told me to follow as they did.
The prayers from Al Aqsa was aired via a microphone and though I didn’t understand Arabic, the sounds were very calming and a shudder of excitement went through me as I prayed.
Unfortunately many of the women could not speak English, but upon finding that I was a journalist from England they seemed eager to talk to me, all I understood was that they wanted the rest of the world to know the conditions they were living in. From conversation I knew they were Palestinian women and I told them how British nationals were supporting their cause and that the atrocities in Gaza has caused outrage. They seemed to understand what I was saying and then carried on praying.
Upon finishing the prayers I left the Dome and spent some time in the mosque courtyard. The sun had been out and there were men, women, families, and children milling about in the courtyard. Some of the women were even making a day of it and had bought along picnics. The mosque courtyard was used as a social place, which is one if the functions if the mosque and it was quite liberating to see this. I can’t last remember going into a mosque in England to pray let alone to socialise so I was quite impressed.
Later on in the afternoon, Christian pilgrims held their procession along the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
For many Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem this is the most important and meaningful thing they will do while in the city. The walk through the Via Dolorosa is the route that Jesus took between his condemnation by Pilate and his crucifixion and burial. Christians of many denominations, but especially Catholics and Orthodox follow the Via Dolorosa pilgrimage.
The main route of the Via Dolorosa is that of the early Byzantine pilgrims, with 14 stations along the way, which we stopped at whilst, the priest prayed in Latin and this was followed by an English translation. I had flashback from Mel Gibson’s movie, the Passion of the Christ and having done the procession myself now, I could see what a good depiction the film was and it really helped me understand what was taking place.
The route ends at the Church of Sepulchre also known as the Church of the Resurrection.
It stands on a site that encompasses the Golgotha, or Calvary, where Jesus was crucified, and the tomb (sepulchre) where he was buried.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre has been an important pilgrimage destination since the 4th century, and it remains the holiest Christian site in the world.
This was an important pilgrimage for the Christian members of our group, for some even an emotional one as they traced the last few steps of Christ. Even the Muslim members found the journey significant as Jesus is also considered a very important prophet in Islam. The journey to the church I felt brought both faiths even closer as we shared many common values and interests. For some more than we realised.
Back at the convent we all reflected on our day. The Christians members of our group said how important it was for them to have their Muslim “brothers and sisters” sharing their journey in Jerusalem and the same was felt by the Muslims.