The thrice-holy city - Jerusalem - The Pilgrim's Way

Jerusalem is a magnet for Jewish, Christian and Muslim pilgrims from all over the world

Jerusalem enjoys the unique privilege of being holy three times over - for Jews, Christians and Muslims.

The Jews learn in the Torah (a Hebrew translation of the Greek word "Pentateuch", designating the first five books of the Bible) that at the end of time the Messiah announced by the prophets will appear on Mount Zion - one of the seven hills of Jerusalem, once the "City of David" - and that all peoples will become one. In order to be as near to the fulfilment of this prediction as possible, believing Jews the world over dream of being buried in the cemetery on the side of this sacred hill. Until then, it is written that Jews must remain "a holy nation and a people of priests", and not merge into other nations. This is one of the underlying reasons for the foundation of the state of Israel as both a temporal and a spiritual kingdom with Jerusalem as its "eternal" capital.

Christians refer to the Revelation of St. John the Divine in the New Testament and believe that the earthly Jerusalem will be transformed into a heavenly city. Except for the short-lived "Kingdom of Jerusalem" in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, which was established after the city was taken by the Crusaders, Christians have never placed the city on a political footing. They venerate Jerusalem only for its role in the coming of Christianity and for the memories associated with this. It is there that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, took on human form to redeem the world and experienced the most painful and the most glorious moments of his earthly existence, notably the crucifixion and the resurrection.

According to Muslim tradition, the faithful await the coming of Muhammad on the Temple esplanade, where he will meet Abraham, Moses and Jesus (in the Qur'an Jesus is only referred to as a prophet) and pray with them as a harbinger of the last judgment and the resurrection. But Jerusalem means something more to Muslims. As Muhammad's destination on the night of the mystic journey during which he was carried to heaven on his mare, it is the third most holy site in Islam after Mecca and Medina. Because it is recorded in the Qur'an, this episode is accepted as an absolute truth: "Glory be to Him, who carried His servant by night from the Holy Mosque to the Further Mosque the precincts of which We have blessed, that We might show him some of Our signs." (Surah XVII).

Tens of thousands of faithful pilgrims belonging to the three major monotheistic religions flock to Jerusalem all the year round, transforming the city into an astonishingly colourful canvas of human diversity. The effect is intensified by the fact that the main holy sites are concentrated in the Old City, a relatively small area surrounded by four kilometres of ramparts. The Old City (East Jerusalem) has four districts (Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Armenian), and was under Jordanian rule between 1948, when the state of israel was created and the first Israelo-Arab war took place, and 1967, when it was conquered by the Israelis during the Six-Day War. Since 1967 the Israelis have controlled the pilgrimage process.

The Wailing Wall

Temple Mount is a site of supreme importance for the Jews. The famous edifice that protected the Holy of Holies was rebuilt by Herod I the Great in 37 B.C. on the ruins of the First Temple built by Solomon. All that remains of Herod's temple, which was destroyed by the Roman legions of Titus in 70 A.D., is a twelve-metre-high foundation wall familiarly known as the "Wailing Wall", which the Israelites had sworn never to abandon.

The dilapidated quarter in which the Wall stood until 1967 has been torn down and replaced by a broad paved esplanade. Pious Jews fervently wish for the Temple to be rebuilt, but this is impossible since it would mean demolishing Muslim sanctuaries that have since been built on the site. A synagogue and a rabbinical school have also been built near the foundations of the Temple.

The Noble Holy Place

The raised platform once occupied by the Jewish Temple became the Muslims' al-Haram ash-Sharif ("The Noble Holy Place"). In 636 Jerusalem was captured by Caliph Umar, one of whose successors, Abd al-Malik, built an octagonal-shaped mosque on the site to house the rock where Muhammad is reputed to have had his dream. This is why the building is known as the "Dome of the Rock". As the French writer Rene de Chateaubriand noted in his Itineraire de Paris a Jerusalem ("Journey from Paris to Jerusalem"), only Muslims were allowed access to the platform, and if the nineteenth-century French traveler Pierre Loti was privileged to walk beneath the Dome of the Rock, it was because he received a special dispensation from the Pasha of Jerusalem.

Today the "Noble Holy Place" is open to everyone except on Fridays, the Muslim day of special congregational prayer, and on Islam's great feast days (the Mawlid, which commemorates Muhammad's birthday, and the Id-al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan). The gatherings do not, however, take place at the Dome but at the nearby al-Aqsa mosque, which was built around the same time.

Al-Aqsa draws from all over the East a growing number of the faithful, who mingle with the early morning crowds of Palestinians who ride in from the outlying villages of the West Bank and Gaza in hired coaches. On most mornings the atmosphere is fairly relaxed, but on Fridays it is tense because entrance into the "Noble Holy Place" is carefully screened by Israeli soldiers posted in front of the wooden gate leading into it. Many of the faithful are not admitted either because they are suspected of being activists or because there are too many of them. The excluded have to be content to pray packed together in the nearby streets.

The Holy Sepulchre

Christian pilgrims flow into Jerusalem during the main Christian festivals, Easter being the most popular because of the importance of the events remembered at that moment in the Christian year. Their first destination is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which was begun by St. Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine. This huge, dark building covers Calvary, the small outcrop where Christ was crucified, and the tomb fifty paces away where he was buried and from which he arose on the third day. Chateaubriand noted that the church, "consisting of several churches built on uneven ground and lit by a multitude of lamps, is particularly mystical. A darkness reigns there that fosters piety and inner reflection."

For centuries, the hierarchies of different denominations have disputed the guardianship of the Christian holy places. Unable to reach agreement, they have made ad hoc arrangements about the occupation of time and space. Franciscan "Custodians of the Holy Land" rub shoulders with Greek and Russian patriarchs, Coptic and Abyssinian monks from Egypt and Ethiopia, Maronites and Melchites from Lebanon, Armenians and Nestorian priests from Syria and Iraq. To add to this mosaic of Christianity are Christians from the English-speaking world, including Mormons, Anglicans and other Protestants, who do not actually have any rights over the holy places but possess a historical, cultural and liturgical heritage in the Old City which they jealously protect.

The Way of the Cross, a Good Friday procession through narrow streets (the Via Dolorosa) whose shops remain open, takes place in an atmosphere of indescribable confusion. In reaction to such difficulties a growing number of Christian pilgrims prefer to visit Jerusalem "out of season" when they can fully benefit from the silence of the holy places that are so dear to them.

RELATED ARTICLE: THE ROADS OF FAITH

As part of the World Decade for Cultural Development, UNESCO has launched a "Roads of Faith" project as a tribute to Jerusalem's international, intercultural and inter-religious importance and to make the city a centre of peace and understanding among people.

Launched in 1991, the project has acquired new significance in the light of the peace talks between Israel and the Arab countries. Mr. Doudou Diene, UNESCO's Director for Intercultural Projects, notes that it could open up new possibilities for UNESCO to contribute to the peace process through an attempt to rediscover the network of relationships woven in the past between the three monotheistic religions.

ANNIE LAURENT is a French writer and journalist who specializes in the Middle East. She is the author (with Antoine Basbous) of Guerres secretes au Liban ("Secret Wars in Lebanon") published by Gallimard, Paris, 1987.

COPYRIGHT 1995 UNESCO
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