Good Friday, or Sad Friday

Since Al Quds (Jerusalem) isn't too much of an inconvenience to get to from where I'm staying, (although it could be much more convenient), I thought I'd visit the Old City and see what Good Friday, or Sad Friday as it's known in Arabic, was like in the 'Holy City'. God had obviously decided that in order to give people a real taste of how unpleasant it was to get crucified, s/he was going to make it really hot. And I mean HOT!

Rather predictably there were masses upon masses of people. The other two times I've been to the Holy Sepulchre were during the summer (i.e. peak tourist season), so although there were huge numbers of tourists/pilgrims today, it wasn't that different from the other times I've been. In fact, the only differences were: i) groups carrying crosses, & ii) police regulating the flow of foot traffic when any of the aforementioned groups stopped to pray/sing/listen to a sermon or site-history.

Personally, I can't see how traveling to Jerusalem for Easter would be a very religious experience. There are so many people, you can't experience any sense of calm or reverence there, and the whole old city is totally geared towards tourist consumption. There are so many cameras (both digital and film), that the whole experience stands out more for its sense of spectacle, occasion and ritual. So I guess that's where the religious aspect comes in.

Flickr is proving uncooperative, so here's the link to some photos I took.

Anyway, due to the intense heat, I wasn't able to last much more than two hours, and then it was off home again. Interestingly, on the way back to the West Bank we managed to drive around the Kalandia checkpoint. That is to say, it's entirely possible to drive around it, rather than go through it. I would ask what's the point, but then I might feel compelled to offer my answer, and I'm just too tired at the moment. Also, despite the fact that Cadbury's sells lots of chocolate over here, there are no Easter Eggs. I'm slightly surprised they haven't tried to exploit this market. Wherever you are, have a good holiday (whether it's Jesus' death, Passover, or the Prophet's birth you're celebrating this weekend).