Jerusalem, Israel (Religious)

Temple Mount Wailing Wall Dome of the Rock Jerusalem Israel
Temple Mount - Wailing Wall
& Dome of the Rock - Jerusalem, Israel
Jews Praying Western Wailing Wall Jerusalem Israel
Jews Praying at the Western (Wailing) Wall
- Jerusalem, Israel
Stone of Unction Church of the Holly Sepulchre Jerusalem Israel
Stone of Unction in the Church
of the Holly Sepulchre - Jerusalem
Muslim Women Temple Mount Jerusalem Israel
Muslim Women at Temple Mount
- Jerusalem, Israel
Pat Dunlap Touching Where Jesus Died on the Cross Church of the Holy Sepulchre Jerusalem Israel
Pat Touching Where Jesus Died on the Cross
- Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Praying Wailing Wall Jerusalem, Israel
Praying at the Wailing Wall
- Jerusalem, Israel

Jerusalem, Israel (Religious) (5/17-21/2010)

Holy Land is certainly here!! Jerusalem is a center (and hot bed) of religious faith.  

Because their most holy sites are located here (#1 Judaism, #1 Christianity, & #3 Islam), Jerusalem plays a very major role in three of the world’s major religions.

The 2000 Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem lists 1204 synagogues, 158 churches, and 73 mosques within the city. 




 
Jerusalem has been sacred to the Jews since King David proclaimed Jerusalem his capital in about 1000 BC. Jerusalem was the site of Solomon's Temple and the Second Temple. Today, the Western Wall (sometimes known as the Wailing Wall) is a remnant of the wall surrounding the destroyed Second Temple, the most sacred site of the Jewish faith, where they believe is the location of Abraham’s near sacrifice of his son Isaac.

Synagogues around the world are traditionally built with the Holy Ark facing Jerusalem. We visited the Western (Wailing) Wall during a major Jewish holiday (Shevuot) - see photos. There is a feeling that comes over you about how sacred devout Jews consider this place. Jews come here to pray and place notes between the ancient stones (see photo) because they believe the presence of God resides here. Men and women must go to separate parts of the Wall to pray.


Map of Old Jerusalem
Map of Old Jerusalem
Christians also revere Jerusalem for its huge significance in the life of Jesus. According to the New Testament, Jesus was brought to Jerusalem soon after his birth in Bethlehem (see separate blog post). It is believed that Jerusalem is the location of Jesus’ last supper as well as his crucifixion and burial (the Golgotha, now the site of the Christians most sacred site, and the beautiful Church of the Holy Sepulchre completed in 335 AD – see photo). Jerusalem has been a destination for Christian pilgrimages for the past two thousand years.
Via Dolorosa Jerusalem Israel
Via Dolorosa - Jerusalem

Pat and I walked Jerusalem's mile-long last path of Jesus (Via Dolorosa - the Way of the Cross) and made wishes for our family at the Stone of Unction in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where we also touched the place where it is believed that Jesus died on the cross and was laid afterwards (see photos).

In addition, Jerusalem is considered the third-holiest city in Islam after Mecca and Medina. Muslims believe that their prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven from Jerusalem in 620 after miraculously being transported in one night from Mecca to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Temple Mount is topped by two Islamic landmarks intended to commemorate the event - the al-Aqsa Mosque and the brilliant glistening gold covered Dome of the Rock (see photo) built in 690 AD. We visited the Temple Mount but non-Muslims (us) are not allowed inside these holy Muslim sites.

For more about amazing Jerusalem, please see our other blog post: 

Israel Jerusalem The Old City

Please see our other 7 blog posts about this historical and interesting country of Israel:

 

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2 comments:

  1. very beautiful post,i am gonna visit this beautifully cultured country next month and i would love to visit all those places so thanks a lot for letting me know about all this.

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  2. Great blog. Your blog refresh my old memories of my Jerusalem trip. Amazing place, great food and best Jerusalem hotels. Thanks for sharing beautiful story with photographs.

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