!!!Holy places of Jerusalem

by Dmitry Moiseenko,
member of the [AirPano Team|Geography/About/Consortium/AirPano,_Team] that is a member of the [global-geography Consortium|Geography/About/Consortium]. \\

2 October 2014

with kind permission of [AirPano|http://www.AirPano.com]

I'd love to start my story with a description of, perhaps, the most
famous city in the world. But... the highlight of my recent visit to
Israel was actually how I entered the country.

Planning an AirPano trip to Jordan, I decided that since only a river
separates Jordan and Jerusalem, it would be crazy not to visit and
photograph the neighboring city Jerusalem.

Two years ago we made an attempt to negotiate with the Israelis to
obtain a permit to shoot with our drone. Mostly, we were interested in
the Old City. With the support of the Embassy of Israel in Moscow and
the Ministry of Tourism of Israel in Israel, we were sure that this
wouldn't be a problem.

But, after several months of correspondence, we were denied for security
reasons, which is what Israel is notorious for. Carrying a weird flying
camera and without papers, we would not have been able to even go
through customs.

[{Image src='01_Temple Mount.jpg' caption='Temple Mount' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='621'}]

"This time, everything will be different", I thought. "I don't have any
unusual photographic equipment with me". So, early in the morning, I am
going to go straight from Jordan's capital, Amman, to the border
checkpoint on the river, and then I will cross the King Hussein
(Allenby) Bridge, and an hour later I will be in Jerusalem.

Unfortunately, I was not that lucky! First, at border control, I was
questioned for half an hour about the purpose of my trip. Then they took
my passport, made me sit and wait under the ruthlessly-blowing air
conditioner, and only an hour later was I taken to a small room, where
once more I was asked the same questions and then told to wait again.
Two hours later (I had already found a place to hide, away from the air
conditioner, but I was still freezing), some man approached me and asked
me to answer the questions, but this time in writing. I filled out a
piece of paper with my answers.

Another couple of hours later, I pleaded with them to take me to my bags
so that I could get some warmer clothes. I was freezing to death. They
felt sorry for me and took me to my bags. My luggage was waiting for me
intact. So, my theory that something suspicious was found in my luggage
was not proven.

[{Image src='02_The Western Wall also known as The Wailing Wall or the Kotel.jpg' caption='The Western Wall also known as The Wailing Wall or the Kotel' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='621'}]

It was getting dark; I had to cancel three scheduled meetings in
Jerusalem. I was called again and asked to fill out one more piece of
paper... Finally, when I started thinking about how to settle down
comfortably to spend the night in the passport control office, I was
again taken into a small room. This was the fourth time I was asked the
same questions. Finally, by some miracle, I was allowed to enter the
country. It took 7 hours for my visa-free border crossing. This is a
personal new record!

Late at night I finally checked into a hotel near the Jaffa Gate in the
Old City. A glass of fresh pomegranate juice took the tension of my
difficult day away.

To my surprise, from that moment on, no one was interested in me. I
walked along the narrow streets and took pictures with my camera and
monopod wherever I wanted to. First, I visited the shrine of all
Christians — the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Here, some people
frantically crossed their hearts in prayer, some dropped down to the
Stone of the Anointing, some just wandered from one denomination to
another, and some were in line to the grotto. Surprisingly, the priests
at the Greek Orthodox Church asked me to show my permits only after I
had already shot almost everything.

The next point of interest was the Wailing Wall (or The Western Wall).
This is the greatest shrine of Judaism and is all that is left of the
Solomon's Temple that was ruined by the Romans. Now I was surprised
again: not only did nobody ask me any questions, but I was invited to
enter the synagogue right at the Western Wall and shoot from there. I
stayed there, waiting for the sunset. For 10 shekels I was allowed to go
up on the roof of a charming building overlooking the square.

[{Image src='03_Church of the Holy Sepulchre.jpg' caption='Church of the Holy Sepulchre' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='621'}]

It was a strange sight: a mass of people praying at the Western Wall,
and above their heads — a covered footbridge, which the Arabs use to go
up to The Dome of the Rock. The dome of the mosque was shining in the
sunset rays, above the remains of the destroyed Temple... You can't see
this from the ground level.

I am very grateful to everyone who writes to us, offering their help. In
one of these letters I found Ilyas's phone number. Ilyas is a helicopter
pilot who has a permit to fly over Jerusalem. I got on the phone and
sent him my information so that we could obtain the necessary permits.

I was not even surprised when he called me back and told me that my
request had been denied. I was prepared for this outcome after my ordeal
at the passport control. However, it wasn't all bad: the ban was just
for the take-off from the capital, as well as any location in Israel,
with the exception being the Tel Aviv airport, where I could get a
decent scan by the security service. This meant paying an additional
half hour of flight time... Yes, it was unexpected, but it was still an
opportunity.

[{Image src='04_Edicule inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.jpg' caption='Edicule inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='621'}]

Ilyas also said that we couldn't fly closer than 1 kilometer to the
walls of the Old City or fall below 300 meters. On the scheduled day, I
discovered that the whole sky was covered with clouds and rain was
sprinkling down ... The flight had to be postponed for a day; and it
would be my last day in Israel. Waking up the next morning, I saw that
the sky was covered with a haze (fog?)up to the horizon, and one could
barely see the sun. All morning, every 15 minutes, I checked the weather
forecast. And, all of a sudden, my iPhone showed the sun would break
through the clouds for two hours. This was my last chance!

I immediately called the pilot. He was surprised by my optimism, but
agreed on a departure time. Despite the fact that I was even ready for a
personal search, the airport security was standard and very lenient. We
took off; and 15 minutes later we could see the Jaffa Gate and the walls
of the Old City. The forecast did not fail us: the sky over Jerusalem
was clear. The sun was going down, the shadow covered the Western Wall
of the Temple, but The Dome of the Rock was shining in the afternoon
light...

[{Image src='05_Jerusalem, Israel.jpg' caption='Jerusalem, Israel' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='533'}]

We had managed to do a few laps before the sun disappeared behind the
hills surrounding Jerusalem... Somehow it reminded me of The Master and
Margarita, a novel by Mikhail Bulgakov, describing this ancient city:
"The darkness that came from the Mediterranean Sea enveloped the city
that was loathed so much by the Procurator. The suspension bridges
connecting the temple with the grim fortress of Antonia vanished; the
abyss descended from the sky and drowned the winged gods above the
hippodrome, the crenellated Hasmonaean palace, the bazaars, the
caravanserai, the alleys, the ponds... Yershalaim, the great city,
vanished as if it never existed."

At dusk we returned to Tel Aviv...

I hope everything that I managed to shoot, with the help of the wizards
at AirPano, turned into a beautiful virtual tour of the city with its
multi-thousand-year-old history.

And perhaps, after seeing it, the Israeli authorities will invite us
again and allow us to fly over the city of Jerusalem without
restrictions.

Jerusalem is one of the oldest cities on our planet. It was first
mentioned in the 19th — 13th centuries BCE. The Kingdom of Judah, the
empire of Alexander the Great, Syria of Seleucids, Ptolemaic Egypt,
Ancient Rome, Byzantium, the Arab Caliphate, the Crusaders, the Ayyubid
dynasty, the Mongol-Tatars, the Mamluk Sultanate, the Ottoman Empire,
the British Empire, Jordan, and Israel all ruled Jerusalem at one point
in time.

The Old City, the historical part of Jerusalem surrounded by the walls,
is the "heart" of the modern city of Jerusalem. The narrow cobbled
streets, majestic walls, Roman columns, and ancient buildings hold
memories of the numerous legendary events. The Old City is home to three
major shrines of the world's religions: Judaism, Christianity, and
Islam.

The world-famous Wailing Wall is what was left of the Western Wall,
which once surrounded the Second Jerusalem Temple. In 568 BCE, the
Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, destroyed the First Temple, which had
been built by King Solomon in 960 BCE. The Second Temple was damaged
during the Jewish War in 70 CE. The 156-meter-high Wailing Wall, made of
huge tightly fit stone monoliths, is the only remaining fragment of the
temple.

[{Image src='06_Inside the Wilson_s Arch.jpg' caption='Inside the Wilson_s Arch' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='621'}]

One can see people praying here and placing notes in the cracks of the
Wailing Wall practically at any time of the day. This is also the final
destination where believers from all over the world address their
letters to "God in Jerusalem". When there are too many notes embedded in
the Wall, they are taken out and buried, because the Talmud prohibits
destroying paper if God's name is written on it.

David's Citadel is one of many landmarks in Jerusalem. It was built in
the 2nd century BCE to protect the Old City. It was destroyed and
rebuilt anew numerous times. The Tower of Phasael (King Herod named it
after his brother, who committed suicide) is the only one of three
Citadel towers that survived until the present day. David's Tower earned
its modern name from Byzantine Christians, who believed that this was
the location of the Biblical king's palace.

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher (also known as the Church of the
Resurrection), the most important Christian relic, is located in the
northwest part of the Old City, in the center of the Christian Quarter.
It is believed that this is where Jesus Christ was crucified, buried,
and then resurrected. Like many other ancient landmarks of Jerusalem,
the Church of the Holy Sepulcher went through several reconstructions.
Now, it is a massive architectural complex, which contains the Calvary
(Golgotha), along with the Rock of Calvary, several monasteries,
churches (including the underground church), galleries, and so forth.

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is shared by six denominations of the
Christian church: Greek Orthodox, Catholic, Armenian, Coptic, Syrian,
and Ethiopian. Each of them has a dedicated chapel and specified time
for prayer. In order to avoid misunderstandings between different
denominations (as conflicts often occurred in the past), starting in
1192 CE, the "independent party", specifically, Arab families, was given
ownership of the key to the church and therefore has the right to open
its gates.

[{Image src='07_Inside the Basilica The Annunciation, Nazareth.jpg' caption='Inside the Basilica The Annunciation, Nazareth' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='572'}]

The Muslim Quarter, home to many landmarks and relics, occupies the
northeast part of the Old City. The most famous is al-Aqsa Mosque; a
holy place located on top of the Temple Mount. The mosque can
accommodate 5,000 people simultaneously. Muslims believe that Muhammad
was miraculously transported one night from Mecca to this very place,
whereupon he ascended to Heaven.

There are a great number of other landmarks outside of the Old City,
such as Kidron (or Jehoshaphat) Valley (where the tombs of the Christian
era reside), the Garden of Gethsemane, the Tomb of the Virgin, and the
Church of St. Mary, which is located on the Mount of Olives and was
built by the Russian emperor Alexander III.

The Mount of Olives (or Mount Olivet) offers a picturesque view of the
Old City with its thick fortification walls surrounding 34 towers and 8
gates, domes of the churches, mosques, and synagogues... Our photo
panoramas will give you an opportunity to see the numerous landmarks of
Jerusalem in detail.

\\ 

> Siehe auch [Österreich und das heilige Land|https://www.nid-library.com/Home/ViewBook/2208]
\\
[13 Panoramas of Holy places of Jerusalem|Geography/Asia/Israel/Pictures/Panoramas_of_Holy_places_of_Jerusalem]










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