in the middle east

The city of Jerusalem has been, among many other things, a city of pilgrimage for many thousands of years. The ancient Israelites would gather here for festive celebrations at the first temple. The returnees from the Babylonian exile reestablished the Jewish festival calendar, which attracted Jews from the diaspora to make their journey to the celebration near the second temple. After the events surrounding the origins of Christianity, especially after it became the religion of the Roman empire in the mid-300's, Jerusalem became a city of Christian pilgrimage, especially during the Easter season. When the city was captured by Arabic forces in the mid-600's and the Dome of the Rock built there, it became the third holiest site for Islam, second only to Mecca and Medina. Thus, it became a city of pilgrimage for Muslims as well. So then, Jerusalem was and is to this day a city to which adherents of three major world religions make their journeys during the festival year. The months of September and October are among the most festive in the city. The Islamic period of Ramadan spans one month, and Judaism has three of its most important holidays at this time: the new year (Rosh-hashanah), the day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) and the Feast of Booths (Sukkoth). Jessica and I really enjoyed our role as observers as we explored about the city to see and hear how people celebrated and practiced their yearly rites. We've accumulated a series of photos and videos to share some of our experience. Among the videos you'll find the following: On Yom Kippur men in a synagogue singing songs of repentance; on Yom Kipper crowds around the Western wall singing songs of celebration at the forgiveness of sins; on Friday prayers at the Dome of the Rock you can hear the Imam leading prayer and singing. Some of the videos are not high-quality visual scenes, but we captured them more for the sounds. So then, enjoy the sights and sounds of Jerusalem during the holidays! Click Here.