A preserved part of the original Jerusalem back in it's heyday

Jerusalem is obviously where a lot of Biblical stuff apparently happened. To a girl who grew up in Sunday School, I was surprised to find that I was looking forward to seeing the sites. After seeing tons of Buddhist temples, Islamic stuff, etc. over the years, I was excited to see some stuff from the religion I grew up with (and I use the term ‘religion’ lightly).

The famous "Dome of the Rock"

Arguably the first church of Christianity

We set out to see the famous parts of Jerusalem on a walking tour. I know Israel is important to Christianity and Jews, but I didn’t realize it was so critical to Muslims as well. Basically there are 3 religions toppled on top of each other in Jerusalem. We stared at the famous Mount of Olives as we were told why it’s so critical for all religions. Then we toured the 3 quarters- the Christian quarter, the Muslim quarter and the Jewish quarter. We walked on rooftops (that’s how they get around in some parts of the old city!)

The Christian Quarter

Muslims in old Jerusalem graffiti their homes to make statements

All this religious stuff boasted of large places to worship, which I expect from Islamic mosques and Jewish synagogues, but I confess that the Christian sector disgusted me a little bit. There was lots of gaudy gold crosses with sinewy Jesus’s looking sad and bereft, dying on the cross. That night we went into the Holy Sepulchre, the place where Jesus was allegedly buried and resurrected. The site has been converted to a massive church which might be cool, and it was certainly magnificent in architecture and proportion, but everything was so gaudy and ornate and I couldn’t help but feel that the spirit of what Jesus supposedly stood for was squashed by all this ritz and glitz and glam. It was strange. People bowed down and touched his grave and kissed it. People sang and prayed chants. It felt almost eerie and ritualistic.

The church built on the site where Jesus was allegedly buried and resurrected

The Tower of David...yup, those are bullet holes up top from the 60's

The famous Western Wall was cool, even though it was raining. It definitely had some reverence to it. We had to go through metal detectors to get in, and there was lots of boys with guns.

A sign at the Western Wall

Probably the most famous site in Jerusalem- the Western Wall

People pray at the Western Wall, and write their prayers on papers and jam them into the stones.

The streets of old Jerusalem are a maze

A famous mosque next to the Holy Sepulchre

The old Jerusalem has the history and the cool maze of streets; the new part is just another city with lots of shopping, coffee shops, and bars. There were also lots of stylish Israelis wandering around, too. I really like the feel of the city and the people are extremely friendly. I actually really like Israel in general, despite the copious amount of religious nut tourists.

Inside the Holy Sepulchre, people bow down at the stone Jesus' cross was allegedly mounted in

The Holy Sepulchre has lots of gothic style glitz and glam

I had maybe hoped to have a spiritual epiphany out here in Jerusalem, but sadly, it only confirmed my cynicism in organized religion. Every religion thinks that they are right.

I don’t want to get into Theological debate or religious views on my blog. You’ll see in the picture captions that I use the words “allegedly” or “supposedly”. This isn’t meant to be disrespectful to those who believe, it’s more because I’m not 100% sure how, for instance, Historians determine that “THIS” was the exact spot that Jesus was buried.

An ornate painting on the wall of the Holy Sepulchre

Part of where Jesus supposedly walked to his death carrying the cross. You can actually rent crosses to simulate the experience.

More glitz and glam in the Holy Sepulchre

People bow down and kiss the stone where Jesus' body was supposedly laid

The place where Jesus' body was buried. It was small inside and very gaudy and intense.

My conclusion after being in Jerusalem? Religion can make people crazy and it baffles me.

Overlooking the City