Jerusalem’s Old City

Jerusalem’s Old City dates back more than 3,000 years. Its street plan is mainly from Byzantine times and its walls were built in the 16th century by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire. There are 8 city gates with one of them sealed shut. The gates are the Herod’s Gate, the Jaffa Gate, the Damascus Gate, the New Gate, the Zion Gate, the Dung Gate, and the Lions’ Gate. The one shut is the Golden Gate, shut because, according to Jewish tradition, the Messiah will enter Jerusalem through this gate, so the Muslims sealed this gate during Suleiman’s rule. We entered the Old City through the Lions’ Gate. This photo was taken after the actual gate.

Via Dolorosa

My taxi driver from my hotel convinced me to hire him as a guide for the Jerusalem Old City and for a walk to see the Stations of the Cross. The Via Dolorosa (Sorrowful Way) is the pilgrimage route following the route Jesus walked on the way to His crucifixion. The Via Dolorosa starts in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City. My taxi driver guide told me that he was an Israeli citizen but also held a Jordanian passport because where he was born was then Jordan. So I figured that he was Muslim and at first I did think it odd that I would be walking the Via Dolorosa with a Muslim guide. He reminded me that Jesus is also part of Islam though Muslims do not believe Jesus was the Son of God. I knew this but had forgotten. You could actually have a Jewish guide, a Christian guide, or a Muslim guide for the Via Dolorosa as Jesus is in all three religions.

Church of the Flagellation

The First Station: Pilate Condemns Jesus to Die. It begins in the courtyard of the Omariya Moslem College, where Jesus was condemned to death by crucifixion by Pontius Pilate. Part of the First Station is at the Church of the Flagellation, owned by the Franciscans, on the site believed to be where Christ was flogged by Roman soldiers.

Church of the Flagellation

Inside the Church of the Flagellation.

Church of the Condemnation

Nearby is the Church of the Condemnation also owned by the Franciscans and believed to be where Jesus took up his cross after being sentenced to death by crucifixion.

Prison of Christ

We went into the Prison of Christ, where Christ was held the night prior to his trial and crucifixion. This is not a Station of the Cross.

Prison of Christ

Inside the Prison of Christ.

Between Stations of the Cross

You see many men and women in religious clothing walking in the streets of Old Jerusalem.

Mosques

You also see a number of mosques in the Old City.

Old City Vendors

The Old City resembles a bazaar with numerous shops. My taxi driver guide knew many of the shopkeepers. He took me to a shop that he said his family owned. I asked him how his Muslim family could own it as it was selling both Jewish and Christian religious items. That’s when I found out that most of the vendors in the Old City are Muslims no matter what they are selling. Also, I found out that almost all of the taxi drivers in Jerusalem are also Muslims.

Third Station of the Cross

The Third Station: Where Jesus Falls for the First Time. An Armenian Catholic Patriarchate church is here.

Third Station of the Cross

Inside the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate church.

Sixth Station of the Cross

The Sixth Station is Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus. This station and some of the other stations have only simple markings such as etchings or plaques.

Arabic Spices

A number of the vendors in the Muslim Quarter were selling mounds of spices.

Lunch

A photo of my Muslim taxi driver guide. I treated him to lunch. I had lamb kabobs.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

We are now in the Christian Quarter of the Old City. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre contains the two holiest sites in Christianity, the site where Jesus was crucified and where Jesus’ tomb is. It was first built by Constantine the Great and dedicated about 336 AD, burned by the Persians in 614, restored by Modestus, the abbot of the Monastery of Theodosius, destroyed by the caliph al–Hakim Bi–Amr Allah about 1009, and then restored by the Byzantine emperor Constantine IX, rebuilt by the Crusaders, and repaired, restored, and remolded. The present church dates back mainly to 1818.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

The Tenth to Fourteenth Stations of the Cross are inside the church. Here Jesus was stripped of his clothes. The mosaic illustrates Jesus being nailed to the cross is the Eleventh Station.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Mural on the wall of the church.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

The Fourteenth Station is Jesus Is Laid in the Tomb. The tomb is enclosed in what is called the Edicule, seen in the photo. There was quite a lot of people waiting to see the tomb. Sometimes it can take two or more hours to reach the front of the line. I went almost right in as my taxi driver tour guide knew the system: catch the attention of the gate keeper and tell him there was a single person to come in. Single people get to go to the head of the line.

Jesus’ Tomb

Jesus’ tomb.

Damascus Gate

We exited the Old City through the beautiful Damascus Gate which was built in 1537 by Suleiman the Magnificent, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

I have put my photos of Jerusalem’s Old City on two slideshows. Go to https://www.peggysphotos.com/jerusalem–old–city–stations–of–the–cross/ and
https://www.peggysphotos.com/jerusalem–old–city–stations–of–the–cross–2/ (Slide Shows, Israel/West Bank/Jordan, Jerusalem, “Jerusalem Old City: Stations of the Cross–1 and –2”).