Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A PO RTRAIT O F
THE HOLY LAN D
A
Jew growing up in New York, a Christian in Lisbon and a
Muslim in Jakarta will have childhoods as different as can
be imagined, but one thing they will share is a common
set of reference points, which will include names such as Abraham
and Moses, and, above all, Jerusalem and the Holy Land.
For around 2,000
years this narrow
corridor of land on
the eastern shore of
the Mediterranean
has exercised an
influence on world
culture far out of proportion to its
modest size. Events that are said to
have taken place here in antiquity
gave rise to the three great mono-
theistic religions. As these religions
extended their influence throughout
the world, so the Holy Land in
general, and Jerusalem in particular,
became overburdened with spiritual
significance. Tradition has it that
Jerusalem is where Solomon built his
great temple, Christ was crucified,
and the Prophet Muhammad visited
on his Night Journey. It comes as a
mild shock to
some to discover
that this spiritual
world centre is no
bigger than an
average city neigh-
bourhood. Those
who come to Jerusalem expecting
architectural grandeur to match the
stature of these spiritual highlights
will be disappointed. The city's
churches don't begin to compare
with the soaring Gothic cathedrals
of Europe. The glorious Dome of
the Rock aside, the buildings are
quite humble. But the effect this has
is to bestow on the city an
altogether appropriate air of
humility and authenticity, pleasingly
at odds with the hyperbole and
oversell of the new millennium.
Mural at a Palestinian school in Jerusalem
Bedouin encampment in the desert scenery of Wadi Rum, southern Jordan
Greek Orthodox priest at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem
