Black Guardians of the Holy Sepulchre
[tab:Travel]
On one of the domes of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, temple on the roof of the world's most revered Christian, a small community of Ethiopian monks refuse to be marginalized by their brothers in faith. And 1808, a fire destroyed the documents that supported their rights custodians and guardians of the holy places blacks were confined to the roof of the basilica. And there are.
If there is a city that has more than enough reason to attract visitors, that is Jerusalem. Sanctified by Christians, Muslims and Jews, the ancient capital of King David is an amalgam of cultures with a history drenched in blood, result of this fanatical violence is unleashed only when you kill in God's name, Ala o Yahve. Strolling through the winding streets of its old town is tripping over and over again with the story. The traveler, in this case, goes taught by the example of tenacity of a small group of Ethiopian Orthodox monks, committed to maintaining its mission as custodians of the Holy Sepulchre despite factional struggles between them forced confessions, two centuries, to move their monastery on the roof of the venerable church.
The traveler enters the Old City through the Jaffa Gate, next to the Tower of David. Fled here, the 9 December 1917, the Mayor, Hussein Selim al-Husaini, dressed in a robe of missionary, and surrounded by children not to call attention, the imminent arrival of British troops commanded by General Allenby. Leaving aside the Armenian Quarter, David Street is unmistakable. The street starts just opposite the Jaffa Gate, across a small square. Flanked on either side by shops, its atmosphere is somewhat oppressive, especially if it runs at nightfall. As you descend its stairs while shopkeepers hawking their deals, knowing that separate you from just a few meters from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on one side, and the Western Wall and the Al Aqsa other, have the growing sense that you undertake an inner journey. From the darkness only arise from time to time some clueless cat, hurriedly passing a rabbi or a group of young people sharing confidences.
The keys of Queen Elena
To get to the Holy Sepulchre must turn left. An arc that precedes a small passage is a good reference. A few meters ahead is the door leading to the square where stands the temple of the temples of Christendom.
In a side, a wooden door just feet in height, almost always closed, lets go to the monastery of Deir al-Sultan, where the Ethiopian monks vegetate on the dome of St. Helena, away from the noise generated by devotee, few meters below, where Jesus was crucified and buried.
Ethiopian monks vegetate on the dome of St. Helena, away from the noise generated by devotee, few meters below, where Jesus was crucified and buried
The Ethiopian presence in Jerusalem dates back to the fourth century, as witnessed by St. Jerome in his chronicles. Crusaders and pilgrims also described over the centuries the Abyssinian presence in the holy city, three monasteries which still retain. The monks say that Elena was the queen who gave them the keys of the Holy Sepulchre and, cling to that conviction, are considered representatives of all Africans in the Holy Land. During the three centuries of Ottoman rule, were the only religious who refused to pledge allegiance to the sultans, it abounds very clearly in his iron determination.
And 1808, a fire devoured the documents that depicted their historical rights to the custody of the Holy Sepulchre. Representatives of five other faiths with the same task (besides Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Copts, Armenians and Syrians) exploited to cast them out of the basilica. Unavailable to that attack the Ethiopian monks, as sinners cast out of paradise, moved to the roof. To make matters worse, in 1838 an epidemic of plague was carried to the grave all the monks and the Copts took over the passageway that connects the monastery to the square where stands the facade of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. So until April 1970, When Ethiopians regained the corridor, reopening a dispute, 40 years later still will not close and even led to the Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria to prohibit the faithful pilgrimage to Jerusalem as leverage.
The "war" of the chair
At the end of the steep stairs is the church of St. Mikael, beside which comprises the close quarters of the monks. As is mandatory in all churches, must remove their shoes before entering. The interior is decorated with traditional Ethiopian paintings of saints and the inevitable representation of the encounter between King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, of the emperors of Ethiopia who have been declared heir to the fall of the last one, Haile Selassie, ago 36 years. Unsanitary conditions. No running water, or light and twenty monks are entrusted to God while blaming the Egyptian Copts of all penalties. In the land where he died the messiah of love, their co-religionists are unable to collect the witness and contested every inch of the Holy Places. A simple blink is enough to trigger hostilities. And 2002, a Coptic monk sought the shadow of the Ethiopian monastery to protect the stifling heat and moved his chair a few feet. Immediately he organized a monumental brawl with the Ethiopian monks, fearful that a harmless gesture was a strategy to deprive them of their meager possessions in the holy roof.
The interior is decorated with traditional Ethiopian paintings of saints and the inevitable representation of the encounter between King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba
Visitors who come here you just need to abstract from these factional struggles to explain, largely, why Jerusalem is still a troubled city, where peace is a chimera, and distribute coins among the monks of swarthy faces.
Eternal suspicion
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre closes at seven p.m., a tradition that has become a live show followed by dozens of tourists who crowd the doors of the temple to get the best snapshot. The traveler is about to kiss a few minutes before the Holy Sepulchre. A monk urged to enter the mortuary chapel at the last tourists. Within, other religious organizations trafficking. “¡Quickly, quickly!”, spurs to the most clueless. You must enter one by one and bent to the grave, a tiny marble-clad room where you can only stay a few seconds. Any hint of retreat is an illusion. Just enough time to kneel down to let the next. Once outside, monks on their way out laggards. The ceremony does not wait. A Franciscan and Orthodox monk presided over the closing routine, monitor their eternal distrust. A ladder, another monk through two planks on the gate and, then, steps back inside through a small window. It is the liturgy of suspicion.
A Jewish scholar wrote in the Talmud that he who seeks greatness "is how he runs away from greatness", whereas those who shun it "sees the greatness he seeks". Jerusalem has paid a heavy price for their grandeur and majesty dipped in blood that he pursued until the last second of its existence.
[tab:the way]
The airlines that offer flights to Israel from Spain are legion. Only from Tel Aviv to note that it takes about 45 minutes to get to Jerusalem by road.
[tab:a nap]
The hotel supply is ample. The passenger stayed in the Moriah Gardens Jerusalem, one step away from Calatrava Bridge, a skyscraper in years whose rooms cry out for reform of the furniture. Reach the old city costs between ten and 15 minutes by taxi. On the journey should not be paid more than ten euros.
[tab:a table set]
The best advice is to be guided by intuition and try your luck at any restaurant in the various neighborhoods of the Old City. To spend a nice evening, in modern Jerusalem, recommend Parrot (Yad street Harutzim, 3), in the neighborhood of Talpiot. Grilled beef a la buena al estilo brasileño. Best Book.
[tab:highly recommended]
-Know, albeit briefly, the history of Jerusalem is almost obligatory in a city overwhelmed by its past. An interesting book is "Historia of Jerusalem", by Karen Armstrong, published by Polity Press.
–Walking through the old city at dusk is an experience that has nothing to do with a morning tour shaken by the legions of tourists. We strongly recommend. Do not be intimidated by overly cautious advice. Be careful and enjoy the magic of the narrow streets and be guided by the guys who break the most unexpected corner.
-The Sisha Bar, in a gallery opposite the Tower of David, is a good place to rest the emotions of the trip with a few beers.
[tab:END]
Comments (3)
My way
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I did not know the history. Surprising scuffle between both confessions should stick more to the Gospel message. Congratulations reports
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Pussy
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Very interesting, Coarasa
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The travel magazine with stories black Guardians of the Holy Sepulchre – The travel magazine with History – Possible Mexico
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