Jerusalem – A Photo Essay of the Holy City

By Muslim and Nevin Harji

Exclusive to Simerg

During the past 8 years, we have visited dozens of cities in over forty countries all around the world. We have to say that the magical quality of the Old City of Jerusalem is unsurpassable. Perhaps it is due to the glorious history of the towering stone walls and ancient buildings, or the sacred atmosphere that surrounds the holy sites of Jewish, Christian, and Moslem religions. The enchanting quality of Jerusalem may also come from the colorful markets and narrow alleyways, or from the city’s dynamic history – a history woven with war and peace, love and hate, destruction and resurrection.

A mountainous walled city with a 5,000-year history, Jerusalem is sacred to the three great monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam – which means it is sacred to more than a third of the world’s population. For Jews, Jerusalem is the site of the Temple, now in ruins except for the Western Wall; for Christians, it is the site of Christ’s death and resurrection; for Muslims, it is the site of the Prophet’s night journey to heaven. Jerusalem is therefore a major site of pilgrimage for all three religions as well as, unfortunately, a place of political tension over this important piece of land. The city is also popular destination for non-religious travelers, thanks to its unmatched historical and spiritual importance, its network of museums and concerts, and the archeological treasures that are continually discovered here.

To enjoy the essence of Old Jerusalem, one must stay in a hotel within the “Walls” (see map above). If your main concern is with the star rating of hotels, you might be out of luck. Furthermore, cars are not allowed within the walled city, so visitors have to be prepared to walk.

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THE HOLINESS OF JERUSALEM

It is perhaps natural that Judaism, Christianity and Islam should all regard Jerusalem as holy: all three share at least parts of the same biblical past, though assuredly they view both the Bible and the past through different sets of lenses. This was, they agree, the city of Abraham and David and Solomon. Yes, the Christian adds, and of the Messiah Jesus of Nazareth. Yes, yes, the Muslim adds, Jesus and Muhammad as well, the latter not in the manner of the flesh perhaps, but spiritually and actually (the city was identified – eventually, if not originally– as the goal of his famous “Night Journey” mentioned in the Qur’an, 17:1, and endlessly elaborated by the later Muslim tradition). In Jewish eyes Jesus may add nothing to the sanctity of Jerusalem, and, in Christian eyes, Muhammad nothing, but there is enough of a shared biblical past to make all three turn their eyes and hearts in the direction of Jerusalem… Excerpt from F.E.Peter’s essay Where Three Roads Meet: Jewish, Christian and Muslim Pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

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Judaism

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Christianity

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Jerusalem has had a spectacularly long and incredibly varied history. It has also been the object of desire. The desire to possess Jerusalem in the political sense, to exercise sovereignty over this coveted place, both triggers and explains a great deal of the history of the city. But Jerusalem is the object of another kind of desire, another kind of possession. Like Aristotle’s First Cause, kinei de hôs eroumenos, ‘it moves as an object of love.’ Across the centuries Jerusalem has drawn millions of people to its gates and into its inner places….Excerpt from F.E.Peter’s essay “Where Three Roads Meet: Jewish, Christian and Muslim Pilgrimage to Jerusalem.”

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Islam

“The Islamic presence in Jerusalem was established in 638 AD and its early history in the city is well-documented….there then followed a period of nearly fourteen hundred years of Islamic rule in the city broken only by the Crusader invasions of 1099-1187 and 1229-1244 AD. This long period saw the construction of the two main Islamic monuments in Jerusalem, the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa mosque, locations of the first direction of prayer in Islam (qibla) and the Prophet Muhammad’s brief ascent to heaven….Mick Dumper and Craig Larkin, University of Exeter.

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PORTRAITS

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MARKETS

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OUTSKIRTS – THE JUDAEAN DESERT

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Profile of Muslim and Nevin Harji at Contributors.

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