We spent four days in Jerusalem, and it didn’t seem enough. The city had so much to offer, there were so many sites to see in this mere 220 acres’ space. To simplify things, I am focusing on three major sites: the Temple Mount, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Mount of Olives.
While preparing the trip to Israel, I came across an article about Jerusalem being the center of the world, geographically. I am not sure about that, but feel free to form your own opinion. Judging from how long it took me to fly to Tel Aviv, America was definitely very far from the center. 🙂
At least spiritually Jerusalem is the center of the three biggest religions of the world.
Temple Mount is the third most holy site for the Muslims, after Mecca and Medina (the Mosque of the Prophet), with Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque. According to Muslim believe, Mohammad was taken up to heaven and received revelation of truth at this location.
For the Jewish worshipers, Mt. Moriah where the Temple Mount is now is also their holiest site too. It was there Abraham attempted to sacrifice Issac, Solomon built the first temple, Zerubbabel the second one after returning from the captivity. The second temple was grandly enlarged by Herod the Great 500 years later, it was the temple Jesus stayed behind when he was 12 years old. Today the only remain of the Herod’s temple is the Western Wall, aka the Wailing wall, here Jewish worshipers lament for the loss and pray for the renew and rebuild of the holy temple one day.
For the Christians, the most holy section in Jerusalem is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The church was built on Golgotha where Jesus was crucified and buried, and three days later resurrected. It has the last five stops of the Via Dolorosa, the Way of Suffering, pilgrims from all over the world come to touch the ground, to meditate how much Christ suffered and paid for the penalty for the sins of the world, aka yours and mine.
Mount of Olives is the hill east of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. It used to be the burial ground of Jerusalem. It became a very meaningful place for the Christians because Jesus was taken up to heaven from Mount of Olives, and he will be back the same way he left according to the writing of the Bible. So you can imagine the numbers of the grandiose churches built on top of Mount of Olives.
A great view of the city of Jerusalem from Mount of Olives.
Thank you so much for going through this series of impressions. I hope my journey to Holy Land help you with your future travel planning and your growth in faith.
Chasing The Wind 