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The path of the Via Dolorosa, the Stations of the Cross, through the Old City of Jerusalem is almost certainly inaccurate. It follows a 14th century grid of the city rather than a 1st century plan, and probably reflects the desire of 14th century merchants along the way to get pilgrims' business. But the hill of Golgotha (a.k.a. Calvary) and Jesus' burial cave, both located by tradition in Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher, are a different matter.
In Jesus' day executions and burials took place outside the city. Today the church is tucked within the Old City's Christian Quarter, but at the time, the area would have been safely outside town walls. The niche-style grave is consistent with 1st century custom. Written attestations to its authenticity-and that of the Calvary rock a few yards away-date back more than 1,800 years. Tellingly, early rulers who might have been tempted to "adjust" the site's location did not do so. Says Dan Bahat, for many years Jerusalem's district archaeologist: "There's nothing to prove that this is not the site of the Crucifixion." If this sounds weak to a believer, coming from an archaeologist, it carries significant weight.
When the unnamed disciple remarked on the size of the Temple stones, Jesus replied that "not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down." He was right. After one last rebellion, in A.D. 135, the Romans leveled Jerusalem, leaving only the bald platform behind. The city, of course, rose again and fell again, was conquered and reconquered . . .
Yousef Abu Ghannam's family holds the key (and the souvenir concession) for the Mosque of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives; it was a Christian shrine until Saladin took Jerusalem back from the Crusaders. Abu Ghannam reports sadly that business is down. "We used to get 700 to 800 people a day," he says. "Now we're lucky to get 150. People are afraid." The few visitors who brave Jerusalem today encounter a metropolis again edgy and turbulent. In the sanctuary of the city's churches, mosques and synagogues, pilgrims can find momentary tranquillity. But the streets bear new pocks from the bullets that flew here late last year. Herod's ancient platform had been closed since last fall to all but Islamic worshippers to avoid further confrontation: Sharon's directive last week to reopen it to non-Muslims may make it a flashpoint again. Travel in the area is the riskiest in a decade, and a U.S. State Department warning against it remains in effect.
At the Ascension Mosque there is at least one optimist, albeit with a long view. The Rev. Frank Booke of Anniston, Ala., has led his tour group to the small off-white domed tower. On its floor is an indentation that pilgrims have thought for centuries is the imprint made by Jesus' right foot as he ascended to heaven.
Booke is an ebullient Pentecostal Christian in an orange Stetson. Consistent with his faith, he takes solace in Christ's expected return to earth and his re-establishment of God's kingdom here, regardless of humankind's errors. Like many, Booke believes his Saviour will arrive at precisely the point from which he left. "This is the place," he says. His flock responds with an explosive "Hallelujah!" and a rendition of The Old Rugged Cross.
But Booke will not simply leave it at that. His joy over the eschatological future does not render him blind to the scandalous present. "We love the Jewish people," he says, then glances at the Muslim gatekeepers and adds, "These are all God's people. When everybody else is afraid, we come to support this land. To support the souvenir sellers. We pray for this land. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem."
-With reporting by Andrea Dorfman and Jonathan Calt Harris/New York and Said Ghazali, Eric Silver and Haim Watzman/Jerusalem