Jerusalem - El Aksa Mosque - The Wailing Wall - The Holy Sepulcher

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The Common Project of Humanity: Jerusalem - Jerusalem is the name of a-six-thousand year history. This makes her one of the oldest cities in the world. Jerusalem is special and holy for the three Abrahamic religions. Since the 10th century B.C., it is the most sacred city and spiritual center for Judaism. For Christians it is a city where humanity has started and will end. For Muslims, it is the third city including a holy place after Mecca and Medina. It is a common city for almost all the people in the world. It is a referential symbol for humanity in interpreting the existence of mankind. Jerusalem is a common project of humanity.

Mosque, churches and synagogues stand all together, as if inseparable. Think about the scene of Jerusalem in a morning: a muezzin starts to call Muslims to pray; churches ring bells as the sounds of the prayers before the Wailing Wall rise. This is unique to Jerusalem. Muslims, Jews and Christians are living in the Old City, in an area of not more than 1000 m2.

The old city which is believed to have been inhabited for almost 6000 years forms a walled quadrilateral about 900 meters long on each side. The old city is the name given to the inparts of the Walls. There are 220 religious buildings in this region and the history of Jerusalem has being shaped in fact by these places. The fortresses are the most attractive builds of the city and are constructed by Sultan Sulaiman, the magnificent on the remains of Crusader’s period.

Though holy places in Jerusalem are inter-connected in spatial terms, the settlement areas are strictly divided. Muslims are concentrated in the neighborhoods north to the Dome of the Rock. The area Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque are built on is coined as Haram Al-Sharif(Temple Mount) after 7th century. The Wailing Wall is an integral part of the walls surrounding Haram Al-Sharif(Temple Mount) 50 m in length, 18 m in height. Jews believe in the holiness of the Wailing Wall which is the sole remainder of the Temple of Solomon and perceive it as sacred site of pilgrimage

Since the religious places and the borders of Muslim, Christian and Jewish neighborhoods are not clear, the administration of the site has been a matter of question. To gain control over the administration, communities is fighting each other. Israel is even digging the Temple Mount and opening tunnels claiming to reach the remnants of the Temple of Solomon. That makes issue more complex. Al Aqsa Mosque is standing on the site holy to both Muslims and Jews. The Church of Holy Sepulcher holy to Christians stands in the middle of two mosques. The Wailing Wall is also known as Burak Wall because the Prophet Muhammad tied his winged steed before ascending into the sky.

The Temple Mount and North Wall are sacred centers for Jews, the Church of Holy Sepulcher is for Christians and Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of Rock are for Muslims. Today the city’s neighborhoods are divided into four (Muslim, Christian, Armenian and Jewish) situated around their holy places. Because the Wailing Wall is the west wall of Al Aqsa Mosque and Via Dolorosa reaching out the Church of Resurrection is passing through the north borders of Al Aqsa Mosque tell us why it is so hard to reach an agreement on sharing the site and its administration, why the Temple Mount with Al Aqsa Mosque on it becomes the key factor to solve the issue and why the neighborhoods are so interconnected. It is not a surprise for Jews to describe The Temple Mount as Lev libo sel Yeruşalim(the hearth of the hearth of Jerusalem)

Christian groups have also remarkable populations. The Church of Holy Sepulchre that is built on the site where Jesus walked, carrying his cross on the way to his crucifixation, Church of St. Anna, the Ethipoian Church and the Basilica of The Agony, Russian and Greek Orthodox churches are all representing different sects of Christianity. Jerusalem has been known by several names as Salem, Yerushalaim, Hierousalem, Ursalaym, Yabus, Zion, Ir David, Ilya, Bayt al-Muqaddas, al-Quds, etc. All of these different names have one common feature: they all mean “peace” and “holiness”. Nevertheless, Jerusalem has never witnessed peace (except the Islamic and Ottoman period), though stayed holy.