No visit to Jerusalem would be complete without a visit to the Western Wall, the remaining corner of the second Temple, built by Herod, and the most sacred place in the world for Jews. Men and women pray separately here, and onlookers are kept at a discreet distance, and strongly discouraged from taking photographs. We climbed up to a small courtyard above the Western Wall Plaza, and sat watching people come and go; tourists and orthodox Jews mingled on the steps, and the sound of voices from a nearby yeshiva (religious school) mingled with birds chirping and a solitary clarinet.
There is a beautiful view across to the Mount of Olives in the distance, with a large Jewish cemetery on its slopes, and to the Temple Mount, Al-Haram ash-Sharif.
There can't be many places in the world where there is so much religious significance heaped up in one place. On top of the Temple Mount are the Al Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock - the rock being reputedly the one on which Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac, and from which the Prophet Mohammed ascended into heaven. Just as Empress Helena sought to secure Jerusalem for Christianity by identifying with such conviction the sites of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus, Abd al-Malik wanted to ensure that Muslims focused where they should, by building the impressive golden dome over the sacred rock.
When the Crusaders gained control of Jerusalem they used the Al Aqsa mosque as a stable for their horses.
People are still fighting over this place. Entry to Al-Haram ash-Sharif is guarded both by Israeli police, and by Jordanian guards. If you say you are a Muslim and want to go in to pray, the Jordanians will make you recite parts of the Koran to prove it. Entry to the mosques themselves is strictly for Muslims, unless, like us, you are lucky enough to know someone who can negotiate a special visit.
While we were there, our guide was at pains to point out the bullet holes in the Al Aqsa mosque, and a cabinet containing ordinance collected after one of the clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters. This place of prayer has become a battleground on several occasions - Ariel Sharon's visit in 2000 sparked the second intifada, and there were several incidents there in the unrest of 2014.
Our guide also described the occasion when an ancient and beautiful wooden pulpit was destroyed in a fire set by an Australian. In his telling the Australian was a Jew; in fact he was a fundamentalist Christian, suffering from a mental illness.
During our visit our guide did not refer at all to Herod's Temple.
So much holiness; so much hatred and mutual disrespect. I can't help feeling Jerusalem is not a good advertisement for religion.
There is a beautiful view across to the Mount of Olives in the distance, with a large Jewish cemetery on its slopes, and to the Temple Mount, Al-Haram ash-Sharif.
There can't be many places in the world where there is so much religious significance heaped up in one place. On top of the Temple Mount are the Al Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock - the rock being reputedly the one on which Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac, and from which the Prophet Mohammed ascended into heaven. Just as Empress Helena sought to secure Jerusalem for Christianity by identifying with such conviction the sites of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus, Abd al-Malik wanted to ensure that Muslims focused where they should, by building the impressive golden dome over the sacred rock.
When the Crusaders gained control of Jerusalem they used the Al Aqsa mosque as a stable for their horses.
People are still fighting over this place. Entry to Al-Haram ash-Sharif is guarded both by Israeli police, and by Jordanian guards. If you say you are a Muslim and want to go in to pray, the Jordanians will make you recite parts of the Koran to prove it. Entry to the mosques themselves is strictly for Muslims, unless, like us, you are lucky enough to know someone who can negotiate a special visit.
While we were there, our guide was at pains to point out the bullet holes in the Al Aqsa mosque, and a cabinet containing ordinance collected after one of the clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters. This place of prayer has become a battleground on several occasions - Ariel Sharon's visit in 2000 sparked the second intifada, and there were several incidents there in the unrest of 2014.
Our guide also described the occasion when an ancient and beautiful wooden pulpit was destroyed in a fire set by an Australian. In his telling the Australian was a Jew; in fact he was a fundamentalist Christian, suffering from a mental illness.
During our visit our guide did not refer at all to Herod's Temple.
So much holiness; so much hatred and mutual disrespect. I can't help feeling Jerusalem is not a good advertisement for religion.
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