Jerusalem and Bethlehem

Some of the places visited in 2019 which included walking tours around many famous historical sites and a walk through time.

The Holy Lands is the birth place of three of the world’s major religions coming together with a sharing history, the spiritual and religious centre for Christianity, Judaism and Islam and some of the oldest cities in the world. 

JERUSALEM

The Old City of Jerusalem is home to several sites of key importance and holiness to the three major Abrahamic religions: the Temple Mount and the Western Wall for Judaism, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christianity, and the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque for Islam.

The walls and city gates were built by the Ottoman Empire from 1535 to 1542 under Suleiman the Magnificent and the layout is different from that of ancient times.

Most archeologists believe that the City of David, an archaeological site on a rocky spur south of the Temple Mount, was the original settlement core of Jerusalem during the Bronze and Iron Ages.  At times, the ancient city spread to the east and north, covering Mount Zion and the Temple Mount. 

The Old City, along with its walls, was added to the World Heritage Site list of UNESCO in 1981.

The Temple Mount is a hill in the Old City of Jerusalem that has been venerated as a holy site for thousands of years, including in Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Dome of the Rock is the world’s oldest surviving work of Islamic architecture, for Muslims, the rock above which the dome is constructed is the spot from which the Prophet Muhammad was taken up into heaven for an encounter with God, known as the Miʿrāj. 

The Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem is a place of prayer and pilgrimage sacred to the Jewish people.  It is the only remains of the retaining wall surrounding the Temple Mount, the site of the First and Second Temples of Jerusalem.  The First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587–586 bce, and the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 ce.

Tunnels beneath the Western Wall are a system of tunnels and underground spaces being excavated beneath the Western Wall. 

Church of the Holy Sepulchre also known as the Church of the Resurrection, is a fourth-century church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.  According to traditions the church contains both the site where Jesus was crucified at Calvary and the location of Jesus’s empty tomb, where he was buried and resurrected.  Control of the church itself is shared among several Christian denominations and secular entities the main denominations sharing property over parts of the church are the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Coptic, Syriac, and Ethiopian Orthodox churches. Directly adjacent to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the Church of the Redeemer, marking a Lutheran presence at the site.

St Anthony Coptic Monastery in the Old City of Jerusalem is nestled amidst the ancient stone streets of the Christian Quarter holding a unique place in the tapestry of Jerusalem’s religious diversity, located adjacent to the northern wall of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre complex.  It is one of the oldest monasteries in the city and is named after Saint Anthony the Great, who is considered to be the father of Christian monasticism.

Church of All Nations also know as the Church of Gethsemane (Basilica of the Agony), is a Catholic Church located on the Mount of Olives next to the Garden of Gethsemane where a section of bedrock where Jesus is said to have prayed before his arrest is enshrined (Mark 14:32–42).  The exposed rock near the altar is believed to be where Jesus prayed. 

First built by the Byzantines in 379, destroyed by an 8th-century earthquake, a Crusader church from the 13th century predate the neoclassical-meets-art-nouveau church standing today and rebuilt between 1919 and 1924. The seals of 12 countries that financed the project are located in the church ceiling.

The Jerusalem Archaeological Park, the earliest finding on this site is a gate from the days of the First Temple, which was possibly built during the reign of King Solomon.  In the days of the Second Temple, King Herod built the majority of the Western Wall using stones whose length could reach almost 14 meters. 

Bethesda pools of Old and New Testament  is referred to in John’s Gospel in the New Testament, (John 5:2) in an account of Jesus healing a paralyzed man at a pool of water in Jerusalem.

The Armenian Quarter is one of the four sectors of the walled Old City of Jerusalem. 

The Jewish Quarter is one of the four traditional quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem. The area lies in the southwestern sector of the walled city, and stretches from the Zion Gate in the south, along the Armenian Quarter on the west, up to the Street of the Chain in the north and extends to the Western Wall and the Temple Mount in the east.

The First Temple period (1200-586 BC) saw the construction and destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem.  Built over 2,600 years ago, ruins  can be found in the Jewish Quarter, they are seven metres wide in the excavated area and likely served as part of the northern wall of ancient Jerusalem in the First Temple period.
 
The Cardo was a central north-south oriented thoroughfare in Jerusalem during the Late Roman and Byzantine periods.  The term “Cardo” derives from the Latin word for “hinge,” referring to role as the main north–south axis in Roman cities.

Via Dolorosa, Latin for ‘Sorrowful Way’ is a processional route in the Old City of Jerusalem representing the path that Jesus took, forced by the Roman soldiers, on the way to his crucifixion. The winding route from the former Antonia Fortress to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a celebrated place of Christian pilgrimage. The current route is marked by 14 Stations of the Cross, nine of which are outside, in the streets, with the remaining five stations being currently inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  

Arab Souk is a large bazaar occupying approximately 100 acres (400,000 m2) in the Old City of Jerusalem.  About 800 merchants operate a variety of businesses in closely-packed shop stalls along a network of alleyways primarily in the Muslim Quarter and the Christian Quarter, located in the northern part of the Old City.

The Attarin Old City Markets are one of the oldest markets located within the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem.  It is distinguished by an arched ceiling dating back to the Mamluk period (1517–1798) that covers the entire market.  It is the middle market of the three-way market (located between the “Butchers’ Market” and the “Khawajat Market”); it connects the “Bab Khan al-Zeit Market” and the “Al-Hasr Market”, parallel to the “Butchers’ Market”. 

Mahane Yehuda Market in 1887 the neighborhood of Mahane Yehuda was established, in 1931 a new section was built and in the 2000s, major renovations were made to the Mahane Yehuda Market.

 the Jewish Quarter to step unpin Cardo, the main street dating back to the times of the Romans, to the Armenian Quarter, visiting the original city of David and the beginnings of Jerusalem. 

Amigo Emil Restaurant  Costandi Bajjali, Al Khanqa Street Chriatian Quarter,Old City, Jerusalem

 

BETHLEHEM

Bethlehem is a Palestinian city, located in the West Bank in Palestine, about 10 km to the south of Jerusalem, with a population of approximately 30,000 inhabitants.  Bethlehem is identified by Christian tradition as the birthplace of Jesus having many churches, most notably the Church of the Nativity, which is registered within the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Manger Square is the focus of celebrations in Bethlehem as one of Christianity’s holiest sites.

The Church of the Nativity originally a basilica in the 4th century, was rebuilt by Emperor Justinian in the 6th century and has been supported by monastic communities since the 12th century.  Built over the grotto that is believed to be the site of the manger in which Jesus was born in Bethlehem.  In 1852 the Roman Catholic, Armenian, and Greek Orthodox churches were given shared custody of the church. 

The Church of Saint Catherine, a Franciscan monastery, is adjacent to the Basilica of the Nativity, another Byzantine structure built over the birthplace of Jesus with a complex of caves underneath the church.  It is administered by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, follows the Roman Rite, and is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2012 as part of the “Birthplace of Jesus” World Heritage Site.

Bethlehem Peace Centre in Manger Square emphasises the concepts of peace, democracy, religious tolerance and cultural diversity. During the excavation works, ruins of a church, a mosaic pavement, and a cistern were found from the days of the Crusaders, the Mamluks and the Ottomans, all of which are exhibited in audiovisual format at Al Riwaya Museum. 

The Shepherds’ Field is where according to ancient tradition, the shepherds received the first tidings of the Nativity in a broad valley in Beit Sahour where they were keeping watch over their flock by night. An angel said unto them, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall .find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger”. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men”. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, “Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.” (Luke 2:8-15). 

The traditional place of the angel’s visit is the town of Beit Sahur. Originally known as the Village of the Shepherds, it is now an eastern suburb of Bethlehem.  The precise location of the appearance of the angels to the shepherds is unknown.

Chapel of the Shepherds’s Field  is a Roman Catholic religious building in Beit Sahour, southeast of Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine.  The chapel commemorates the annunciation of Jesus’ birth to the shepherds, said to have taken place in Beit Sahour.   

The Grotto beneath the chapel lies the humble shelters used by shepherds which offers an authentic connection to the historical context of the Nativity story. The rustic simplicity of the grotto mirrors the materials used in many olive wood carvings, which are a testament to the enduring craftsmanship of local artisans.

The Milk Grotto a Christian landmark, not far from the Church of the Nativity is a cave church dedicated to the Virgin Mary where, according to tradition, she nursed baby Jesus. 

1 day in Jerusalem – 360° Virtual Tour

Why Jerusalem’s Western Wall is so holy

As the Christian festival of Easter and Jewish holiday of Passover converge, a surge in pilgrims is expected in Jerusalem, home to sites revered by the three major monotheistic faiths.

Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz is rabbi of the Western Wall, a remnant of the retaining wall of the mount on which the Holy Temples once stood.

Every year, millions of Jews from all over the world visit the wall to pray.

Rabbi Rabinowitz explained to BBC News why the Western Wall is so important to the Jewish faith.

Jerusalem’s holy sites in 2.5 minutes

Guided tour of Jerusalem’s holiest sites in two-and-a-half minutes.

Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilus III explains why Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the holiest place in Christianity.

Why Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque is so holy

Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib al-Tamimi explains the importance of Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque to Islam, as well as the neighbouring Dome of the Rock, a major holy place to all three religions.