Cultural Geography and Politics of Jerusalem

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The territory of the Old City is only 0.9 square km and it is surrounded by 7 gates, 35 towers and a fortress (Tower of David). The old city in a special way embodies the unique character of the city, being historically divided into four quarters, completely different in culture, history, and population (clockwise, starting from the southeast): the Jewish Quarter, the Armenian Quarter, the Christian Quarter, and the Muslim Quarter. The Old City, clearly visible from the Mount of Olives, is surrounded by powerful fortifications built in the 16th century under Sultan Suleiman I the Magnificent (Dumper, 2014). The gates of Herod, the Lions and Damascus gates lead to the Muslim quarter. In the Jewish quarter, behind the Zion and Garbage gates, one can see the Wailing Wall (Ssilvern, 2018). The Armenian quarter is the smallest; there are few famous sights here, and there is the Patriarchate with a library of ancient books and manuscripts (Meyer, 2011). In the Christian quarter, outside the Damascus and Jaffa gates, there are about 40 monasteries and temples of various faiths. A map of the Old City is shown in the figure below.

Figure 1. The Old City of Jerusalem

Every corner of the Old City is literally saturated with history. For example, the Lion Gate leads to Calvary Via Dolorosa, the mournful path along which Jesus Christ passed before the crucifixion. The Golden Gate overlooking the Temple Mount is mentioned more than once in the Bible. The Jews believe that through them the Messiah will someday enter the city. Traditions say that Sultan Suleiman also believed in this, and therefore ordered to block the gates (Mourad et al., 2018).

Within the fortress walls of the Old City, there are a number of holy places of key importance: the Temple Mount and its retaining Western Wall – for the Jews, the Holy Sepulcher – for Christians, Kubat el-Sahra, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque (on top of the Temple Mount) – for Muslims. One of the important Christian shrines of the Old City is Via Dolorosa – the Way of the Cross of Jesus Christ – from the Lion Gate of the Old City to Calvary. The path was charted by the Franciscans in the 14th century along with the remains of decumanus, the 2nd-century Roman road. It begins in the Muslim Quarter and ends in the Temple of the Holy Sepulcher (Ssilvern, 2018).

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher was built on the site of the execution and burial of Christ. It is a complex of buildings that were erected on the site of Calvary. The last five standing of the Cross of Jesus Christ are located exactly under the arches of this church. In the Church of the Holy Sepulcher every year on Easter, a ceremony of the descent of the Holy Fire takes place, which is broadcast throughout the world and is of great importance to all believers.

Wailing Wall, Western Wall is part of the ancient wall (485 m long) around the western slope of the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, surviving after the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 AD during the First Judean War (Cohen-Hattab & Shoval, 2017). The Temple Mount around which the Wailing Wall was built has long been a place of worship for believers. First, the First Temple, or the Temple of Solomon was erected on it, destroyed long before the onset of the new era and served as the only place for prayers allowed for Jews. After 70 years, it was decided to restore the temple. Through the efforts of several rulers, the Temple was reconstructed, and it was called the Second. The Wailing Wall is precisely the surviving part of the Second Temple. This is the greatest shrine of Judaism outside the Temple Mount itself. For many centuries, it has been a symbol of faith and hope for many generations of Jews, a place of pilgrimage and prayer. It is believed that some of the events described in the Pentateuch and the Old Testament took place precisely on the Temple Mount, which was surrounded by a ring of Wall. For example, here the test of Abraham took place, from whom God demanded the sacrifice of the only and long-awaited son (Mourad et al., 2018).

This place is no less sacred also for Muslims, as upstairs, on the site of the First Temple, there is an important Muslim shrine – the Kubat al-Sahra mosque, inside of which there is a protruding stone. It is believed that name from this stone the prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven on a winged horse (Mourad et al., 2018). This is one of the earliest monuments of Islamic architecture, having the correct proportional outlines and an internal richly decorated patterned mosaic ornament. It was built during the reign of the Umayyad dynasty near the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third shrine of Islam after the Al-Haram Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina. Up to 5,000 believers can pray in a mosque at the same time (Cohen-Hattab & Shoval, 2017). Often it is also called the Omar mosque, because the first building, a small house of worship, was erected by the caliph Omar in 636 on the site of the First Temple of Solomon and the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 (Dumper, 2014).

The status of Jerusalem is disputed in international law and diplomatic practice, with the Israelis and Palestinians, who establish Jerusalem as the capital. The dispute has been described as one of the most difficult issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with conflicting claims for sovereignty over the city or its parts, as well as access to its shrines (Lee & Liebermann, 2017). The main debate is carried out around the legal status in East Jerusalem and especially the Old City.

The Temple Mount itself is controlled by Islamic organizations. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is jointly owned and managed by several Christian denominations according to a complex scheme established many centuries ago. All main and secondary premises are strictly divided between Armenian, Syrian, Greek Orthodox, Catholic, Coptic, and Ethiopian churches. All property, as well as territorial rights, were enshrined in the relevant agreements several centuries ago. However, the ownership of the territory in which it is located is disputed by Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Meanwhile, the program committee under the Executive Board of UNESCO adopted a controversial resolution in which the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is designated exclusively as a Muslim shrine.

The availability of many unique monuments and places of world significance has led to a fierce struggle between different peoples over this city for many centuries (Bajekal, 2015). Tension in the old city of Jerusalem is still felt: for example, the Wailing Wall is heavily guarded by the Israeli military. To approach it, one needs to go through an inspection on a metal detector. Access to Temple Mount and t Kubat el-Sahra is generally significantly limited (Shilo & Collins-Kreiner, 2019). The solution to the Jerusalem problem rests on the firm unwillingness of the parties to take the path of compromise on such a matter of principle to them. Jerusalem has long been not just a holy city, a religious symbol, but also a big political issue.

References

Bajekal, N. (2015). 6 reasons why Jerusalem’s Old City has once again enflamed the region. Time. Web.

Cohen-Hattab, K., & Shoval, N. (2017). Tourism, religion and pilgrimage in Jerusalem. Routledge.

Dumper, M. (2014). Jerusalem unbound: Geography, history, and the future of the Holy City. Columbia University Press.

Lee, I., & Liebermann, O. (2017). The two words that explain tensions over Jerusalem’s Old City. CNN Travel. Web.

Meyer, T. (2011). The Culture and religion of the Holy Land in the 21st century. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

Mourad, S., Koltun-Fromm, N., & Matossian, B. (2018). Routledge handbook on Jerusalem. Routledge.

Shilo, S., & Collins-Kreiner, N. (2019). Tourism, heritage and politics: Conflicts at the City of David, Jerusalem. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 24(6), 529-540.

Ssilvern (2018). Jerusalem documentary. [Video]. YouTube. Web.

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Cultural Geography and Politics of Jerusalem

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