The Cardo Maximus (Jerusalem's main thoroughfare)

The Cardo Maximus was the main thoroughfare of the Emperor Hadiran’s 2nd Century CE Aelia Capitolina. It was a wide, stone-paved and colonnaded road that led through the heart of the city from the north at the Damascus Gate to the south with an unknown end point.

The southern end of the road was excavated in the 1970s during the reconstruction of the city’s Jewish Quarter. Excavators uncovered a section of the road, now located below ground level and accessible for visitors to walk upon today. This section of road was dated to the Emperor Justinian’s rebuilding programme of the 6th Century CE to link the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to the newly constructed Nea Church. It should therefore be viewed as a later addition to the original Roman road as no evidence of an earlier pavement was excavated below.

Type: Archaeological Site
Tags: Aelia Capitolina, Byzantine, Byzantine Road, C2nd, C6th, Cardo, Column, Excavation, Hadrian, Jerusalem, Justinian, Roman, Roman road, Stone

Umayyad Mosque Damascus

The Umayyad Mosque of Damascus is the earliest Islamic monument still extant after the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. As with the Dome of the Rock, the Mosque boasts a large volume of mosaic decoration of the highest quality that is believed to have been carried out by Byzantine artisans given the similarities of the technique and motifs with high-quality Byzantine commissions of the same era. The most notable difference is that there is a complete absence of figural imagery in the Islamic monuments. In the case of the Umayyad Mosque the decoration is particularly intriguing as it depicts a range of landscapes both urban and pastoral, all entirely without living creatures. This has led many commentators to argue that it represents a vision of paradise, with others arguing instead for an idealised representation of Damascus. Whether or not these interpretations are correct, the mosaicists appear familiar with Roman architecture, with porticoed late Roman villas appearing prominently in the decoration, meaning that the mosaics demonstrate a continuity with earlier artistic forms rather than a definitive break with the past. In many ways the decorative scheme is far more conservative than that of the Dome of the Rock, which predates is by over twenty years.

Type: Mosaic
Tags: 1962, Architecture, Byzantine, C7th-C8th, Damascus, Dome of the Rock, Islam, Jerusalem, Mosaic, Mosque, Syria, Umayyad, Umayyad Mosque

Inside the old city of Jerusalem

This collection of photographs captures everyday life from inside the old city of Jerusalem. It includes general street views, pilgrims and tourists, modern-day Christian souvenirs and architectural details.

Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Christian Quarter, Church, Graffiti, Inscription, Jerusalem, Mosque, Rooftops, Souvenir, Street

Haram al-Sharif Complex

Type: Architecture
Tags: Al-Aqsa Mosque, Dome of the Chain, Dome of the Rock, Haram al-Sharif complex, Holy Site, Jerusalem, Mosque

Views of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives

The Mount of Olives is situated on a mountain ridge to the east of the old city of Jerusalem and it was so called as it was covered with olive trees in antiquity. The Mount offers good views of the east of Jerusalem, most notably the Haram al Sherif complex, including the Al Aqsa mosque, the Dome of the Rock, the Dome of the Chain and the eastern city walls.

Type: Landscape
Tags: Dome of the Rock, Grave, Haram al-Sharif complex, Jerusalem, Mount of Olives, Views

Views of Jerusalem from the Austrian Hospice

The Austrian Hospice is located within the old city of Jerusalem on the via Dolorosa to the north of the city. It is situated high above the surrounding area and it therefore offers great views of the city. These photographs were taking looking southwards to the Dome of the Rock and eastwards towards the church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Type: Landscape
Tags: Dome of the Rock, Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem, Rooftops, Views

Views of Jerusalem from the Citadel

Jerusalem’s Citadel, also known as the Tower of David, is located to the west of the city, close to the Jaffa Gate. These photographs are taken from the museum with views north-eastwards towards the domes of the church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Lutheran church of the Redeemer and eastwards towards the Dome of the Rock and the Mount of Olives.

Type: Landscape
Tags: Dome of the Rock, Haram al-Sharif complex, Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem, Mount of Olives, Rooftops, Views

Views of Jerusalem from the church of the Redeemer

The church of the Redeemer was built in the late 19th Century above the site of the church St. Mary Minor. Today, visitors are able to walk up the tower for the most wonderful 360° views of the city. This is a collection of photographs with views towards the Dome of the Rock, the Mount of Olives, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the rooftops of Jerusalem.

Type: Landscape
Tags: Dome of the Rock, Haram al-Sharif complex, Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem, Mount of Olives, Rooftops, Views, West Bank

Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem

Early sources reveal that Constantine’s church of the Holy Sepulchre was sumptuously decorated with fine marbled panels, columns and a coffered ceiling. A cross was set up on the rock of Golgotha to commemorate the exact site of the Crucifixion and was replaced over the following centuries with one decorated with gems, a golden cross and a simple wooden one in the seventh century. Christ’s tomb was in two parts: the first a porch that contained part of the stone that formed the door to the tomb and the second the tomb itself. It had a roof of silver and gold, outer walls made of marble and it was topped with a cross.

The modern church has been significantly modified and little of the Late Antique fabric has survived as much of it was rebuilt in the nineteenth and twentieth century following a fire and an earthquake that caused much damage.

Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, C12th, C19th-C20th, C2nd, C4th, Christ, Christian, Church, Constantine, Cross, Crucifixion, Crusades, Domed Basilica, Golgotha, Holy Sepulchre, Holy Site, Israel, Jerusalem, Joseph of Arimathea, Mosaic, Pilgrimage, Resurrection, St. Helena, Tomb

The external architecture of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem

The first church of the Holy Sepulchre built by the Emperor Constantine was dedicated in the year 328 AD. It was accessed off one of Jerusalem’s main thoroughfares, the Cardo. The entrance led to a narthex, the basilica, an atrium and culminated with the Anastasis (or Resurrection) Rotunda that surrounded the much smaller edifice of Christ’s Tomb. Unfortunately, very little of this church now remains. The Late Antique foundations exist below ground level of the current church and are cut off from public view. Throughout its history, the church has undergone many remodelling and rebuilding programmes, much of which was caused by its turbulent history during the Persian invasion in the seventh century and the Muslim conquest of the city in the eleventh century. Much of the visible external architecture dates to the Crusader period.

Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, C12th, C19th-C20th, C2nd, C4th, Christ, Christian, Church, Constantine, Crucifixion, Crusades, Domed Basilica, Golgotha, Holy Sepulchre, Holy Site, Israel, Jerusalem, Pilgrimage, Resurrection, St. Helena, Tomb