first time; there, in legend, Veronica wiped his face. The narrow stone streets are too small for cars; and the short distances, tiny passageways and unexpected turns leave one with a sharp, personal sense of history.
One can approach the Western Wall, the sole remaining portion of the temple built by Herod the Great. As Jews are not permitted to pray at the stone under the Dome of the Rock, the Western Wall is the holiest place in the world where Jews gather to pray. To join the crowds from around the world who come to touch this concrete connection to their own past is a humbling and exhilarating experience.
Then there is the thrill of wandering through this beautiful city, strolling through the open air market, picking a restaurant for lunch, exploring an historical building or finding live music in the night. Most of the city is very modern, although more subdued than Israel’ s secular seaside city of Tel Aviv, but within the Old City one can leave much of the modern world behind and follow the footsteps of history on the cut stones of every little street.
Here is just one example. The Old City is divided into quarters. There is a Jewish Quarter, a Christian Quarter, a Muslim Quarter and an Armenian Quarter intersected by the main ancient Roman roads.
Say what? How did the Armenians get a
quarter of Jerusalem? Armenia was the first nation on the planet to officially adopt Christianity as its religion( back in 301 AD) and has had a powerful claim on the city ever since. The four quarters touch at the crossroads of ancient roads built by the Romans. I was taken up on the roof at the center of the Old City, where the ancient roads cross.
I looked toward the Christian Quarter and saw the church steeples and slanted rooftops of a European city. Turning to the Muslim Quarter, I saw the minarets and square buildings of an Arabic city. The Jewish and Armenian quarters were less flamboyant yet distinct.
Several religious traditions hold that Jerusalem is the center of the world. On that rooftop at the Roman crossroads, I stood in the center of the center of the world where different cultures live next door to each other. For many billions of people on this planet, the city of Jerusalem has fundamental meaning and importance.
More than antiquity calls. Rarely a day goes by without a news story from Jerusalem. It is one of the oldest cities on the planet yet is also infused with youth, energy, passion, and a frontline effort to achieve genuine peace between different peoples and cultures.
Don’ t watch it on TV. Go see it. Next year in Jerusalem!
“ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they
shall prosper that love thee.”
- Psalms 122:6
via Dolorosa, where legend says Christ carried His cross. Above photo credits: Michael Kelly
101
InnovativeHealthMag. com