A Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

Jerusalem isn’t a very large city- which makes it very easy to wander through. As Christians, what we were really interested in were churches and other places connected with the Bible- which were a dime a dozen. Visit the quiet Mount of Olives, shrouded with olives and cypresses, which shelters the Garden of Gethsemane and the neighbouring Church of All Nations; the Garden Tomb, in nearby East Jerusalem, is also highly recommended. Other must-dos include a walk down the Via Dolorosa, supposedly the path down which Jesus carried his cross- a weekly walk at 3 pm every Friday, led by Franciscan monks, traces the path, and is a must.

More secular `shouldn’t-be-missed’ highlights include a walk along the ramparts of Old Jerusalem- the solid stone walls of the Old City offer splendid views of both old and new. Browse through a local fruit-and-veg market; buy beautiful handpainted tiles; eat mouthwatering shawerma at the Al Quds restaurant- or just sit yourself down at a roadside café and see Jerusalem go by!

Quick Tips:

Tip #1 would be to wear a very comfortable pair of shoes- Jerusalem’s best explored on foot, and you’ll find yourself doing a lot of walking. For those whose linguistic skills are restricted to English, East Jerusalem is generally easier to get around in- almost everybody (mostly Palestinian in this part of town) knows at least a smattering of English. And anyway- you’ll find people very friendly!

Pick up a Jerusalem guide map to orientate yourself- there’s so much to see, you’ll need it. The Christian Centre in West Jerusalem is, in particular, a good place to get a map of all the places of importance to a Christian pilgrim.

If you’re on a shoestring budget, eating at local shawerma restaurants or picking up falafel and kebabs from a roadside stall can be an inexpensive way of filling up. Israel’s fruit and vegetable produce is excellent, so do indulge on salads, fresh juice and stuff like that- it’s great.

Best Way To Get Around:

The best way to explore Jerusalem is on foot- many of the best sites lie within the walls of the Old City in East Jerusalem. Also very close to the Old City is the Mount of Olives, which swarms with churches and other sites.

Make sure you’re wearing a comfortable pair of shoes, are armed with a good map, and have a bottle of mineral water.

For those trips further out- both within Jerusalem and to nearby towns, there are many options. The bus service is great for travelling around town and to places like Bethlehem and Bethany, both less than 10 km away. Buses are cheap, the service's good (and frequent) and the bus drivers are really friendly guys!

Sheruds (`shared taxis’) are large cars or vans in which you pay for a seat- more expensive than bus, but it saves you the bother of waiting at a bus station. We found sheruds not all that great, however- not as clean and efficient as buses- and more expensive.

More expensive than either buses or sheruds are the `normal’ taxis- they can be hailed on the street or hired from a rank.

The Capitolina Hotel has the advantage of being in a quiet and somewhat secluded part of town- you don’t find yourself overrun by shawerma-sellers and souvenir-hawkers at every step you take- yet it’s close enough to all the top attractions in town. It’s a peaceful, thankfully non-touristy hotel, of the clean, no-frills brand of hospitality. The rooms are large and comfortable, the carnations in the vases are huge (as all the flowers, fruits and vegetables in Israel seem to be!), and the staff, although most of them can’t speak English, is genuinely friendly. The added bonus is the splendid view from the windows- you can see a lot of the Old City without having to stir out of your room! The Mount of Olives, the Garden Tomb, and the Old City are all within 15 minutes’- or less- walk of the Capitolina Hotel.

Meals are served in the dining room and the restaurant- good, wholesome food which we really loved. Bed and breakfast rates are US$10 for a double room. It’s a good value-for-money deal, especially as the breakfast is the no-skimping type which can keep you going through the rest of the day!

For Americans, staying at the Capitolina Hotel is especially convenient as the US Consulate is virtually next door.

The very first day we spent in Jerusalem happened to be a Friday, and we did as good Christian pilgrims do on a Friday in Jerusalem- we walked down the Via Dolorosa, the `Path of Sorrow’ along which Christ is supposed to have carried his cross. Whether that’s historically correct is debatable, but the experience of tracing the route is truly amazing. Every Friday, a procession makes its way along the Via Dolorosa (starting at Stephen’s Gate) and into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where Christ is said to have been entombed. The procession begins at 3 in the afternoon, taking about an hour to reach the Sepulchre- and everybody’s invited to join in the walk.

Snaking its way through the Old City, the Via Dolorosa starts at the old Al Omariyye College, its courtyard filled with orange trees. It’s a quiet, serene place, citrus-scented and with an aura of peace about it. A few monks, clad in brown habits, lead the procession, which makes its way through cobbled streets, past old houses, stone churches, and shops selling everything from fruit and vegetable to `I love Jerusalem’ T-shirts. Along the path are the `Twelve Stations of the Cross’- the twelve spots where events connected with the journey took place: the condemnation of Christ; the lifting of the Cross; the flagellation of Christ, and more. At each of the stations a carved stone plaque marks the spot, depicting the incident which occurred. At each of the stations, the Franciscan brothers stop for prayers- in Latin- and you may well find some unlikely-looking people joining in- I found myself standing next to a young man in faded jeans who recited the prayers- in Latin- just as fervently.

The final five stations of the Cross- including the marble slab on which Christ’s body lay- are situated within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Church, a high-domed cathedral built by the Empress Helena, mother of Constantine, abuts the neighbouring Coptic Church, also worth a visit once you’ve finished the walk.

The Mount of Olives lies in East Jerusalem and is stop #1 for anyone keen on churches- this is where they all are. A low hill, covered with cypresses and olive trees, it’s traversed by a quiet road which meanders its way up, past historic churches, to the top, from where you can look out over Jerusalem. It’s a must-do for any Christian pilgrim, more so because this tranquil mount has many associations with the Bible: Jesus entered Jerusalem- on Palm Sunday- by coming down the road along the mount; this is where the Garden of Gethsemane was- and still is, and this is where he ascended into heaven.

A short walk from Nablus Road- where we were staying- brought us to the first of the churches on the Mount of Olives. This is the Church of All Nations, with its beautifully crafted mosaic façade and its multiple domes. It’s been built from donations by countries from across the world, hence the name. The Church of all Nations is also known as the Basilica of the Agony, for this is where Christ prayed- in the garden of Gethsemane, next door. They say that the eight gnarled old olive trees in the grove are the same ones which stood here during the days of Christ.

Higher up on the Mount of Olives is the golden-domed Church of Mary Magdalene, and the unusual black-and-white tear-shaped building of the Sanctuary of Dominus Flevit (`He Wept’- an allusion to Jesus’ weeping when he saw the city of Jerusalem). The latter, in particular, was a beautifully quiet place to sit for a while- very serene and peaceful.

You can walk further up the Mount of Olives if you wish- the view from the top is a stunning one, and it’s a great place to take photographs of the Old Walled City of Jerusalem.

More popular belief has it that Jesus Christ was buried at the place where the Church of the Holy Sepulchre now stands, at the end of the Via Dolorosa. What is now being put forward as a very likely contender for the same honour is the Garden Tomb. Biblical historians and researchers present a number of interesting facts to support the claim: one, that Jesus was crucified and buried outside the city, which makes this area- outside the walls of Jerusalem- a more plausible site than the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Bible says that Jesus was laid in an unused tomb (one owned by Joseph of Arimathaea)- which is also true; the Garden Tomb is actually an unfinished tomb. What’s most interesting is the fact that Jesus had been crucified at Golgotha- literally `The Place of the Skull’- and the hill facing the Garden Tomb looks eerily like a human skull, complete with eye sockets and gaping mouth.

Whatever it may be, the Garden Tomb’s worth a visit. We went here on a warm afternoon, and even though the place was crowded, it wasn’t the jostling, noisy mass you’d have expected it to be. The tomb lies amidst a very well-maintained garden, full of cyclamens and rosemary, and with plenty of benches where you can sit. Volunteers take visitors around on a guided tour of the entire area, explaining its history. You can buy souvenirs at the local shop, or just take the sprig of fragrant rosemary which is gifted to every visitor.

Entry to the Garden Tomb is free.

A circular bed of tulips gleams red and gold through the shining glass pane of the window, and the young man at the check-in counter has a smile just about as bright. "Shalom," he grins at us. "I hope you enjoyed your trip to Israel!" We’re standing at the El Al counter at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport, ready to go back home to India after a short but extremely eventful fortnight in Israel. Everything about Ben Gurion International is oh-so-correct. Brisk, efficient, not a hair out of place- a far cry from most of the places we’ve been visiting in the past two weeks. But then, we’ve been all over the West Bank, in Palestinian-controlled areas, where the spit-and-polish of the West is replaced by the `anything-goes’ exuberance of the East.

Anything goes, but warmth and a certain joie de vivre are what rule this area. "The West? What does the West know about hospitality?!", says a Palestinian Christian at the East Jerusalem YMCA, where we spend a week. He extends a cup of absolutely exquisite Turkish coffee to my father, and the twinkle in his eye is downright mischievous as he continues, "It’s the East which knows what hospitality really is!" And in this case, the West is not just Europe or America- it’s also smart, clean, very Jewish West Jerusalem. A different city almost, with its chic boutiques, its clean pavements and its gleaming cars.

Maybe he’s right; or maybe it’s just the fact that we do end up feeling much more comfortable when we’re in East Jerusalem. Though we’re foreigners in an alien land, we don’t actually feel out of place or away from home. Perhaps it’s got something to do with the heady aroma of kebabs and shawerma, falafel and fresh oranges which hits us as soon as we get out on the street; perhaps it’s the jostling crowds, the wandering goats, the roadside eateries and the overflowing trashcans on the street. This is too much like India for it to feel like a foreign country…but perhaps it’s actually the bright grins which appear on faces when we say we’re Indian. "You’re welcome here," says the Arab bus driver on the coach we take to Bethany, "Indians are our friends." We- my parents and I- have come to the Holy Land as pilgrims. And though we’re on our own, we’re not really on our own- because all around us are thousands of other pilgrims. Muslim, Jewish, Christian- for this city, lying amidst the hills of Judea, is sacred to all three religions. Muslims call it Al Quds- `The Holy’- and believe it to be the place where the Prophet began (and ended) his night journey to heaven. To the Jews, Yerushalayam is Zion, part of the Promised Land; and to us Christians, it’s the place where Jesus preached, died, and rose again. Walking down Nablus Street, we see ample evidence of Jerusalem’s three religions- sombre rabbis in long black coats, monks in brown habits, Palestinian women in white scarves which frame their faces…the Jewish girls, in hip-hugging jeans, their hair streaked red and gold, look very different- and yet fit in so perfectly with this city which very dexterously juggles BC and AD, east and west.

It’s a breathtakingly beautiful city: there’s no denying that. Every building, whether it’s a hotel or an office, is made of the same beige-brown stone, and all around rise the hills- shrouded with cypresses and groves of grey-green olives, and dotted with churches. These stones, these trees, the very mountains around- breathe history. A history of war and peace, of Roman and Crusader, of Palestinian and Jew…

The most-photographed of Jerusalem’s many sights, the golden Dome of the Rock glitters in the sun, the most revered (after Mecca and Medina, that is) of Islam’s shrines. And near it is the Western Wall- the Wailing Wall, sacred to Jews as the last remnant of the Second Temple of Jerusalem, built way back in 20 BC by King Herod. And within the Walled City itself, not too far from the Wailing Wall and the Dome of the Rock, is the Via Dolorosa- the Path of Sorrow, down which Christ carried his Cross.

The Via Dolorosa-the Wailing Wall-the Dome of The Rock- all within walking distance of each other. Jewish, Islamic, Christian? Or just morsels of history which lie next to each other?

One cool, balmy morning we walk up the Mount of Olives, to visit the Church of All Nations, with its beautifully crafted mosaic façade. A short break at the Garden of Gethsemane next door, and then it’s further uphill, to the golden onion domes of the Church of Mary Magdalene, and the stark white-and-black domed Sanctuary of Dominus Flevit.

We walk on up the hill until we reach a level terrace, warm and lovely in the sunshine. There, amidst beds of purple irises, we stop for a breather, and to look out over the city, its ancient walls awash with the pale sunshine of an early spring day. A quiet city, serene and seemingly peaceful. At this distance, we can see no cars, no touristy souvenir-shops, and few modern buildings.

Just Jerusalem, the eternal city.