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On the Saturday before Easter the believers of the Ethiopian Church, dressed in white, flock into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. They enter through a small door to the right of the main entrance, and climb the stairs to their section of the church: a hall that served as the knights' refectory in the Crusaders' period and now is an Ethiopian church, and the Holy Sepulchre church roof, with a dome in its center.
Prayers go on during the day, but in the evening the sacred fire ceremony starts. After some prayers, song and dance to the beating of drums, candles are distributed to everyone present, and the fire is passed from one to another. Soon the whole roof is glowing with lit candles, illuminating the participants' dark skins and white robes. The chanting is rhythmic and monotonous, a procession of priests and followers is going round and round the central dome, walking and dancing, and the crowd is getting more and more excited, esctatic.
The Ethiopians welcome visitors, and participating in this ceremony with them is a unique experience.
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 Receiving the sacred fire
outside Jaffa Gate by iblatt, 4 more photos
The rules of the ceremony are very strict: only two men are allowed to be inside when this happens: the Greek Orthodox Patriarch (who is the first to enter) and the Armenian Patriarch. They light their torches from the fire and pass them through holes in the walls to the crowds impatiently waiting outside the chamber, in the main hall of the church. From then on, the ecstatic pilgrims rapidly pass the fire from one to the other, from inside the church to the outside, from the lanes of the Old City to the people waiting outside the gates. Lanterns are lit from this fire, which pilgrims will carry back home to their communities far and wide.
This is an outstanding ceremony, unique to Jerusalem. The Old City is transformed, with a truly international mix of faces, dresses, languages... The excitement can be felt all around.
If you are in Jerusalem around Easter, don't miss this unique experience!
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 Jerusalem, public Sukkah at
night by FruitLover
The pic shows a special giant sukka built by the municipality of Jerusalem and elictricity company of Israel.
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 Sighted on the roof of a
church - Santa Claus? by gilabrand
Dinner at one restaurant that included a "Bloody Marry" (sic...). There is a kind of buzz in the air as people head for midnight Mass in the churches of the Old City and Abu Ghosh. The YMCA building is strung up with lights, illuminated dramatically against the dark sky.
On a visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre the day before Christmas, I went up to the roof of the church, where the Ethiopian Christians live in huts (quarreling endlessly with
the one Copt who lives there). All of a sudden, I heard the sound of booming drums emanating from some invisible source. Opening the newspaper the next morning, I read that there had been a Christmas parade in Bethlehem. Mystery solved. It must have been a school band practicing for this event. Leave a Comment
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 Easter Passion by Bregman
See the Christian quarter travelogue for more.
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 people praying by ophiro
A lot of people come to pray for god and the Jewish quarter is full with people.
Even if you are not a religious person it is a fascinating thing to see and if you want to pray it is a powerful experience.
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 Chanukka Lights by Bregman
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Arriving on Friday afternoon in Jerusalem was a strange experience. First of all, I did not expect to see so many Orthodox Jews. I always thought, ok, Jews were religious, but to follow the traditions of dressing and hair-cut nowadays, I did not expect. The other thing I found amazing, is that there is no public transportation after 4pm on Friday and the most of the Jews walk. It was so quiet on that Friday night and on the next day, which is quite not normal for a big city nowadays.
But on Saturday night the young people were out, having fun on the street. They must find it difficult to go on a party all night and on the next day, on Sunday, to go to work in early hours.. What a life style... Anyway, it is kind of charming to see people following their traditions that have lasted for millennia. Leave a Comment
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