ASIANOVERLAND.NET SYDNEY TO LONDON  DAY 135/296/47: JERUSALEM TO BETHLEHEM, PALESTINE

The existence of the State of Palestine is a reality for the 138 other states that have already established bilateral diplomatic relations with the State of Palestine since its Declaration of Independence in 1988.

The Armenian presence in Jerusalem dates back to the 4th century AD, when Armenia adopted Christianity as a national religion and Armenian monks settled in Jerusalem.

The Crusades were military expeditions undertaken by European Christians in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries to the Holy Land, and were religious wars initiated and directed by the Roman Catholic Church. The Eastern Mediterranean campaigns in the period between 1096 and 1271 had the objective of recovering the Holy Land, Palestine, and especially Jerusalem, from Islamic rule.

In 1099, the Fatimid (Shia) ruler expelled the native Christian population before Jerusalem was besieged by the soldiers of the First Crusade. After taking Jerusalem by assault, the Crusaders massacred most of its Muslim and Jewish inhabitants, and made it the capital of their Kingdom of Jerusalem. The city, which had been virtually emptied, was recolonized to block the return of the surviving Muslims and Jews. The north-eastern quarter was repopulated with Eastern Christians from the Transjordan (both banks of the Jordan River). As a result, by 1099 Jerusalem's population had climbed back to about 30,000.

In 1187, Jerusalem was taken from the Crusaders by Saladin, who permitted Jews and Muslims to return and settle in the city. Under the terms of surrender, once ransomed, 60,000 Franks were expelled. The Eastern Christian populace was permitted to stay. Under the Ayyubid dynasty of Saladin, a period of huge investment began in the construction of houses, markets, public baths, and pilgrim hostels, as well as the establishment of religious endowments.

From 1229 to 1244, Jerusalem peacefully reverted to Christian control as a result of a 1229 treaty agreed between the crusading Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and the Ayyubid sultan of Egypt, that ended the Sixth Crusade. The Ayyubids retained control of the Muslim holy places, and Frederick was not permitted to restore Jerusalem's fortifications.

The current walls of the Old City were built in 1535–42 by the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. The walls are 4.5 km long, and rise to a height of between 5 and 15 metres, with a thickness of 3 metres at the base of the wall. 

Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent is credited with allowing different religions and religious laws, to be practised in the four different quarters of Jerusalem - Muslim, Christian, Jewish and Armenian.The Armenian Quarter is one of the four quarters of the walled Old City of Jerusalem, in the southwestern corner of the Old City, accessed through the Zion Gate and Jaffa Gate. The Armenian Quarter is separated from the Christian Quarter by David Street (Suq el-Bazaar) and from the Jewish Quarter by Habad Street (Suq el-Husur). The Muslim Quarter is the largest "quarter" of Old Jerusalem.

The Old City walls contain 35 towers, of which 15 are in the more exposed northern wall. Suleiman's wall had six gates, to which a seventh, the New Gate, was added in 1887. The Golden Gate was at first rebuilt and left open by Suleiman's architects, only to be walled up a short while later.

Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, is only a few kilometers from Jerusalem, but there is heavy Israeli security, as Bethlehem is in Palestine.

Our 1980 overland trip book records:

“3 November, 1980

Went to a “Hassidic Rock Concert” & found out for 1st time that not all religious Jews go around as if they crawled from beneath a stone – these guys were Hassidic Hippies – music was fantastic – pity again about only 4 days stay …

Off to Tel Aviv for a day – our first paddle in the Mediterranean.

And one great night at the Pilgrim Palace.”

↑ Day 134 ↓ Day 136