One of the most revered buildings on earth, the church is also somewhat
decrepit. Bickering among the various denominations has kept it in a state of per-
petual construction. Damage caused by major fires in 1808 and 1949 and an earth-
quake in 1927 demanded a level of cooperation and a pooling of resources that
could not be mustered. Restoration work in any part of the basilica implies owner-
ship, making each sect hesitant to assist and eager to hinder the others. The result
is that little, if anything, is ever accomplished. In 1935 the church was in such a
precarious state that the colonialists desperately propped it up with girders and
wooden reinforcement. Since 1960, partial cooperation has allowed the supportive
scaffolding to be gradually removed. To this day, however, the question of who
gets to change a light bulb can rage into a month-long controversy.
The church's entrance faces the slab on which Jesus was supposedly anointed
before he was buried. To continue along the stations, go up the stairs to the right
just inside the entrance. The chapel at the top is divided into two naves: the right
one belongs to the Franciscans, the left to the Greek Orthodox. At the entrance to
the Franciscan Chapel is the Tenth Station, where Jesus was stripped of his clothes,
and at the far end is the Eleventh Station, where he was nailed to the cross. The
Twelfth Station, to the left inside the Greek chapel, is the unmistakable site of the
Crucifixion: a life-size Jesus, clad in a metal loincloth, hangs among oil lamps,
flowers, and enormous candles. Between the eleventh and twelfth stations is the
Thirteenth Station, where Mary received Jesus's body. The station is marked by an
odd statue of Mary adorned with jewels, a silver dagger stuck into her breast.
Jesus's tomb on the ground floor is the Fourteenth (and final) Station. The Holy
Sepulchre, in the center of the rotunda, is a large marble structure flanked by huge
candles. The first chamber in the tomb, the Chapel of the Angel, is dedicated to the
angel who announced Jesus's resurrection to Mary Magdalene. A tiny entrance
leads from the chapel into the sepulchre itself, an equally tiny chamber lit by
scores of candles and guarded by priests. The raised marble slab in the sepulchre
covers the rock on which Jesus's body was laid. Nudging the back of the Holy Sep-
ulchre is the even smaller Coptic Chapel. To the right of the Sepulchre, the Chapel of
Mary Magdalene marks where Jesus appeared to her after his resurrection.
The rest of the church is a dark labyrinth of small chapels through which
priests, pilgrims, and chatty tourists wander. Because the various denomina-
tions can't agree on an interior decorator, the building houses only religious
paintings and oil lamps. Near the eastern end, steps lead down to two chapels
commemorating the discovery of the true cross. In a small chapel on the ground
floor just below Calvary, a fissure runs through the rock, supposedly caused by
the earthquake following Jesus's death. According to legend, Adam (of Adam
and Eve) was buried beneath Calvary, allowing Jesus's blood to drip through
this cleft and anoint him. (Church open daily 5am-8pm, in winter 4am-7pm. Men and
women must cover their knees.)
OTHER RELIGIOUS SIGHTS
CHURCH OF ST. ANNE. Commemorating the birthplace of Jesus's mother Mary,
the church is one of the best-preserved pieces of Crusader architecture in Israel. It
survived the Islamic period intact because Salah al-Din used it as a Muslim theo-
logical school (hence the Arabic inscription on the tympanum above the doors).
Extensive excavations behind the church clearly show the layers of history; the
ruins of a 5th-century basilica cover those of a 2nd- or 3rd-century chapel. The
church itself has fantastic acoustics. Let's Go used to suggest that visitors try sing-
ing quietly in the front rows, but there's now a sign informing people that "This is
a holy place for prayer and religious hymns only"-oops. The cool, beautiful crypt
has a beaten-copper cross and inlaid stone floors.