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Olga Tyomina
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"Jerusalem on Friday: after the pray"

 

 

Friday in Jerusalem

by Olga Tyomina

Jerusalem is the cradle of three religions -  Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In the streets of the city you can hear different languages, pilgrims from all over the world are coming here to their holly places. Jews are coming to the Crying wall – the remnants of the Temple, al-Aqsa Mosque the third holiest place for Muslims, and St. Sepulchere is often full of the Christians from all over the world.
Friday is a very important and a very special day in Jerusalem. On this day Muslims have their Friday pray. People are coming to al-Aqsa Mosque in the morning, staying there, praying, after this going home for rest, or coming back to their working places. There is a place in Jerusalem, called Mount of Olives, from where you can see the whole Old City, with its Churches, Minarets, Synagogues, if you are lucky to be there when the Friday Pray starts, and Ezans (Muslim priests) are calling people to come to the Mosque and to pray, you will be surrounded by the voices reading Quran, and you will have a feeling of pleasant dizziness and hearing this voices inside of your head, your heart.
 Usually Friday is a half working day in Jerusalem, because it is also a special day for Jews. On the beginning of the sunset Shabbat is coming – Jewish Saturday, when the people should meet together, spend time with their families and forget about their jobs and problems.
Not everybody is keeping these rules, even in Israel. But Jerusalem is a special city, and people living here are usually more religious then secular. So, on Friday afternoon and Saturday till the sunset, the City becomes calm and silent, people are walking by foot, rare cars can be seen in the streets; youth meets in the center of the city and hangs out  together. Older generation is walking to the Old city, where holy places are concentrated. Many people are walking dressed traditionally and elegant, they are walking after Shabbat pray in Synagogues; they are hurrying home, because friends and relatives are coming to celebrate the end of week together.
Jerusalem is the only place in the world where you can meet a Catholic priest, Jewish Rabbi and Muslim Imam in the same bus, who is driven by an Armenian Christian. It is a wonderful place, it is a nice city and it needs peace. Humanity should pray for the peace of Jerusalem. People here in Jerusalem believe that the peace of the whole Middle East will start from here.

-- published on March 11, 2007 --
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