A WONDERFUL MISTAKE BY EARL SHUGERMAN

I enjoy spending several days a month these days in the holy city of Jerusalem, which has been considered by many as the center of the world since the beginning of time.

Jerusalem is located on a plateau in the Judean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea, and it is one of the oldest cities in the world. It is considered holy to the three major Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Jerusalem housed the two Jewish Temples, King David composed the 23rd Psalm here, Muhammad made his nocturnal journey to heaven, and Jesus of Nazareth carried the cross in this incredible place. The city has spiritual, religious, historical, and archeological significance that leaves me in awe each time that I come here and I never cease to find new and amazing things to explore and learn.

I have often enjoyed staying atThe Abraham Hostel which is located in Jerusalem’s city center. The hostel hosts guests from around the world who enjoy daily events and tours of the region. The tour of the Old City takes about four hours. I have taken it several times and last week decided to take the tour of The Mount of Olives for the first time. The 2:30 pm tour was initiated at the Jaffa gate. Something is to be said for paying attention to details. There was also one of the daily city tours at the same time and place. It took me about fifteen minutes to realize that I was on the wrong tour. It was fine though as I learned more about the Old City this time and each new fact was amazing. It was a wonderful mistake.


The Jaffa Gate, Lion’s Gate Jaffa Gate

          Herod's Gate
 
The main entrance to the Old City is the Jaffa Gate, which was built by Suleiman in 1538. The name in Arabic, Bab el-Halil or Hebron Gate, means "The Beloved" and refers to Abraham, the beloved of God, who is buried in Hebron.

This passage was originally built in 1898 when Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany visited Jerusalem. The ruling Ottoman Turks opened it so the German Emperor would not have to dismount his carriage to enter the city. Many of the city tours and festivals are held in the area which is close to a wonderful mall and leads to exotic shops and cafes in the old city.

Located in the east wall, the entrance leads to the Via Dolorosa. Near the gate’s crest are four figures of lions, two on the left and two on the right. Legend has it that Sultan Suleiman placed the figures there because he believed that if he did not construct a wall around Jerusalem he would be killed by lions.

 
Lion's Gate (note the dual lions on either side)

Much of the architecture in the old part of Jerusalem was built by Herod the Great in the first century of the modern era. He was a schemer who took advantage of Roman political unrest during his era to claw his way to the top. During a civil war in the empire, Herod won the favor of Octavian, who later became the Roman emperor Augustus Caesar. Once he was king, Herod launched an ambitious construction program, both in Jerusalem and the spectacular port city of Caesarea, named after the emperor. He restored the magnificent Jerusalem temple, which was later destroyed by the Romans following a rebellion in A.D. 70. Herod was the Roman client king of Judea. He has been described as "a madman who murdered his own family and a large number of rabbis. He was the evil genius of the Judean nation prepared to commit any crime in order to gratify his unbounded ambition, yet he is considered the greatest builder in Jewish history and of his time.

King David's Tower in The Old City of Jerusalem is a grand 3,000-year cross-cultural architectural collaboration, a patchwork of fortifications, monuments and shrines cobbled together by three millennium worth of kings, conquerors’ and holy men. In no single place is this more apparent than in the Jerusalem - Citadel.
The tower itself is a minaret added by the Ottomans to an older Mameluke mosque and dominates the Old City's skyline. Situated over a weak spot in the ancient city's defenses, the area of the citadel has been continuously used as a fortification by every Jerusalem civilization from the Canaanites and Israelites on down to the Ottomans, all building atop and throughout each other's works. Our guide explained to us that mortar was hard to obtain in the days of Herod. Therefore, many of the bricks in the old city were made large enough to maintain their own weight.

The most inspiring part of the trip was a view of the Temple Mount. We climbed to a rooftop view of the glorious spot. The mount is only open to Muslim visitors in an effort to maintain peace in the city. Judaism regards the Temple Mount as the place where God chose the divine presence to rest (Isa 8:18); according to the rabbinic sages whose debates produced the Talmud, it was from here where the world expanded into its present form and where God gathered the dust used to create the first man, Adam. The site is the location of Abraham's binding of Isaac. According to the Bible, two Jewish Temples stood at the Temple Mount, though there is no proof for the first temple.

Among Sunni Muslims, the Mount is widely considered the third holiest site in Islam. Revered as the Noble Sanctuary (Bayt al-Maqdes) and the location of Muhammad's journey to Jerusalem and ascent to heaven, the site is also associated with Jewish biblical prophets who are also venerated in Islam. After the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem in 637 CE, Umayyad Caliphs commissioned the construction of the al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock on the site.[4] The Dome was completed in 692 CE, making it one of the oldest extant Islamic structures in the world, after the Kaabah. The Al Aqsa Mosque rests on the far southern side of the Mount, facing Mecca. The Dome of the Rock currently sits in the middle, occupying or close to the area where the Bible mandates the Holy Temple be rebuilt.

Yes, each time I tour Jerusalem I am more amazed at the history of the city and the emotional fervor associated with the City of David. There has been more than three thousand years of joy and spiritual ecstasy. Sadly, conflict has continually been a part of the holiest city on earth. In my opinion, one of the greatest challenge facing the leaders of this region is to find a just and peaceful way for the major faiths to share access to the holy sites of Jerusalem. Religion has been a major source of conflict since the beginning of humanity. I often quip with my Jewish, Muslim, and Christian friends that we could all live together as brethren if Jerusalem was located in another part of the world. Hopefully, what should be the common thread among the faiths “The Golden Rule” will become a practice rather than a dream. This is certainly the place where the test could be the greatest.