O Jerusalem!

It’s a city as old as time. Whether you are a believer or an agnostic, Jerusalem considered holy by three Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity and Islam—and boasting more than 5,000 years of history, overwhelms you. Hebrew writer and Zionist leader Elhanan Leib Lewinsky said, “Without Jerusalem, the land of Israel is as a body without a soul.” And to be able to touch the soul is a feeling that cannot be described in words.

As you enter Jerusalem, which lies between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea, a quiet sense of awe descends. After all, this city has been besieged, captured and recaptured countless times. It has risen from the ashes at least twice and was attacked over 50 times. Yet it shines as a beacon of faith for the hundreds and thousands of pilgrims who visit it every day—the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque revered by the Muslims as the third holiest place after Mecca and Medina; the Western or the Wailing Wall, where Jews gather to pray at what remains of the Second Temple; and, of course, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Christians from all over the world throng daily. It’s this beautiful syncretism that makes Jerusalem throb with life. Local guide Ofer Drori says, “Jerusalem is a city of the dead.” Just like people in India travel to Varanasi to breathe their last and be cremated by the banks of the Ganga, Christians, Jews and Muslims from all over the world come to Jerusalem with the hope of dying there and being buried in its soil.

The Old City is divided in four quarters—the Jewish Quarter, the Armenian Quarter, the Arab Quarter and the Christian Quarter. While the three religions in Israel have had their share of wars and animosity, today they exist—almost peacefully—side by side. The Dome of the Rock stands on the foundations of the destroyed Jewish Second Temple. Next to it, where the Arab Quarters are, is the Via Dolorosa—the Path of Sorrow, or the route that Christ took bearing the cross to reach Golgotha, where he was crucified. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is built exactly on the spot where Christ is believed to have been crucified. To walk down this path is a humbling experience. Of course, the area is now dotted with curio shops and perpetually crowded with pilgrims—some of whom can be seen walking with a wooden cross or even singing hymns. Not a single shop owner calls out to tourists or hawks his wares. The pilgrims and tourists are left alone to experience Christ’s suffering.

Jerusalem is the epicentre of life in Israel. But visit here on Shabbat and you find the Old City almost deserted. Everything is shut in the Jewish Quarter. There are hardly people around, but you will definitely find quite a few cats, idling away on the stone steps. Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre it’s a different story though. The church is fully crowded. People stumble forward—some with infants in their arms—to touch the stone slab on which Jesus’ body was kept after it was brought down from the cross. On the floor above is the main altar with a statute of Christ marking the spot where he was crucified. Murals adorn the ceilings and gilted paintings populate the walls with coloured glass lamps hanging from above. Once you come down the stairs, you see a square stone structure. This was built on the spot where Christ was finally buried, before he rose again.

Once outside the church, you find rows upon rows of shops selling holy water and anointing oil, besides olive wood rosaries and bracelets. But most shops wear a deserted look. Thanks to the ongoing conflict in Gaza, not many tourists travel to Israel. As is the case everywhere, it is the common man who suffers. “Please buy something. Anything. I haven’t made a sale in weeks,” a shopkeeper implores. Maybe it’s just a seller’s tactic, but as you look at the faces of the locals around you, you understand that faith alone can’t keep a city alive. It needs peace too.