Jerusalem

I couldn't possibly remember everything I've seen and done since my last post, but I'll give it my best shot. On Friday morning I visited the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate and the nearby Ethiopian Orthodox Monastery in the heart of the Old City. That afternoon at 3:00 I joined the Franciscan friars on their solemn procession through the Fourteen Stations of the Cross.

I spent Saturday on the Mount of Olives in Arab East Jerusalem. I began and ended my day by visiting the Tomb of the Virgin Mary. Controlled by the Greek Orthodox and Armenian churches, the tomb is accepted by all Muslims and all Christians, except the Roman Catholics, as the burial site of the Virgin Mary. From there I went to the Russian Monastery at the top of the Mount of Olives and visited their Church of the Ascension, from whence the Russian Orthodox, and only the Russian Orthodox, believe Jesus physically ascended to Heaven. I then went down the street to the dusty little Chapel of Ascension, from whence all Muslims and the vast majority of Christians believe Jesus ascended to Heaven (you can even see his footprint on the little launchpad!). When I say the "vast majority" of Christians believe this is Jesus's launchpad, I am obviously not including the Russian Orthodox, and much more recently the Lutherans have also rejected the authenticity of this site. It seems that the Lutherans recently made a hostile takeover bid on the Chapel of Ascension, and when that bid was rejected, they simply bought a nearby plot of land and declared it to be the true site of the Ascension. The purchase is so recent that they have yet to demolish the profane structures that defile the newly sacred ground.

After visiting the Holy Launchpads, I had a long, interesting conversation with a Palestinian man who allows tourists to have their pictures taken on his camels. As with most of the Palestinians I have met, he launched immediately into a conversation about global politics, George W. Bush, the war in Iraq, and of course, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He was, however, somewhat unusual in his insistence that all peoples are generally good and that their leaders are liars who make money off of violence. He was just as quick to praise the Israelis and Americans as he was to praise the Palestinians and Iraqis. And he was equally quick to condemn Hamas as he was to condemn Bush or Sharon.

After our little chat I visited the Church of the Pater Noster and Eleona Church in the Carmelite Sisters' cloister on the top of the mountain. The Sisters were diggin' me. You could tell.

From there I visited the Jewish Cemetary that covers the side of the mountain, and the tear-shaped Basilica of Dominus Flevit built by Antonio Barluzzi. At the bottom of the mountain I visited the Garden of Gethsemane (where Jesus was arrested) and the Roman Catholic Church of all Nations.

I spent all day Sunday standing in the lines of various Jerusalem post offices. It was fun. I kept wondering why all the heavily armed soldiers in the lines didn't "go postal." Americans are so much more frisky!

This morning I decided to make a serious push to finish visting all the Christian sites in this city. First and foremost, this meant visiting all the shrines and chapels along the Via Dolorosa. I began at the Church of St. Anne, where the Virgin Mary was born. The acoustics in this Crusader church are extraordinary, and church choirs from around the world gather here to sing hymns before visiting the Stations of the Cross. I sat and listened to three different groups sing -- two from the United States (both were quite good) and one group from sub-Saharan Africa that just blew everyone's socks off. I was literally driven to tears by the beauty of their singing, as was almost everyone else in the church. I visited the crypt beneath the altar marking the spot where the Holy Virgin was born as another group took center stage.

From there I visited the Bethesda Pool, where Jesus gave the waters curative powers, and then I headed to the First Station(s) of the Cross (most of the Stations of the Cross consist of several little shrines and chapels in a small area, each claiming to be the true Station of the Cross -- you should all have the recurring picture by now). I visited the Chapel of the Condemnation and the Chapel of the Flagellation before heading to the Convent of the Sisters of Zion. The Sisters were, once again, diggin' me. You could tell.

On my way to the Third Station(s) of the Cross, I had two mildly disturbing experiences. From an Islamic madrassa I heard a young boy yelling something down onto the street. When I looked up, he was looking right at me, and he spat. He missed (the little shit), but it left me wondering what I had done to deserve his wrath. Was this a politically motivated attack? A religiously motivated attack? Or was he simply a little boy wanting someone to spit at? Nothing he said would indicate politics or religion as his primary motivation (there was no mention of the Greatness of God or the evils of American foreign policy -- at least, not as far as I could tell). But this event was followed almost immediately by an elderly Palestinian man saying quite loudly to me, "You work for the CIA!" I turned to him and said, "I do?" To which he replied, "Obviously." There were several men standing around watching the interaction (the spitter had disappeared into the madrassa), and so I felt obligated to defend myself. "I'm a teacher," I said. "No you're not," he replied. "You're obviously not a tourist. You've been here for days, just talking to people. You're CIA." That creeped me out. Although, it must be said, he didn't seem particularly concerned that I was CIA. He was just making a point.

So what did I do? What any sane person would do: I went to the Armenian Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Spasm, where a group of Armenian Catholic nuns were performing a service. Predictably, the Sisters were diggin' me. You could tell. And Our Lady of the Spasm protected me from further accusations of CIA involvement. She's good at that kind of stuff.

The Fourth and Sixth Stations of the Cross were both closed for lunch, and so I came to the internet place at the Eighth Station to make this posting.

Jerusalem is really a fascinating town. Not surprisingly, the economy is driven by pilgrimage (read: tourism). The Crusaders were the pilgrims par excellence, and they are the ones who introduced the Fourteen Stations of the Cross and made Jerusalem the pilgrimage destination that it is. While the Muslims have their Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque (on the same compound), there aren't any other significant Muslim holy sites in the area. And while the Jews have their Western Wall, there aren't any other significant Jewish holy sites in the area. (There are plenty of historical sites of interest for both Muslims and Jews, but no real pilgrimage destinations besides the obvious ones.) The Christians, on the other hand, have sites of religious significance at every turn. As far as I know, I haven't seen any Muslim pilgrims here, and away from the Western Wall, I haven't seen any Jewish pilgrims either. But the streets are packed with Christian pilgrims from all around the world, not to mention all the Christian priests, ministers, monks, and nuns (who dig me, you can tell) who make the Old City so colorful in their traditional vestments.

Lunchtime is over, and I've got to hit the rest of the Christian sites before the day is done! Wish me luck!

(Photo by Eric: The Tomb of the Virgin Mary, Jerusalem)