Jerusalem, the holy land of three faiths. Yet it is bounded with preposterous rumours and wild accusations.
In this photo journal, the writer proves all the rumours false as he travels across the borders of the iron walls, through the
Judean wilderness and reaching the iconic Temple Mount.
A must read for anyone wanting to know the truth behind what lies in Jerusalem.
The Holy Land: An Excursion through Faith and History
1. The Holy Land.
AN EXCURSION OF FAITH AND HISTORY
PHOTOGRAPHS AND WORDS BY
AIMAN SYAKIR ABDUL HARIS
2. contents.
2
3
Jerusalem of Gold..........................................4
Temple Mount: Facts and Myths.................8
Mount Zion..................................................17
Mount of Olives...........................................25
Tomb of Moses.............................................30
From Jericho, with Temptation..................34
Hebron, the City of Abraham.....................38
Halhul, where Jonah Rests..........................46
Jerusalem, in a nutshell...............................53
About the Photographer..............................54
I dedicate this glorious book to my dad, Abdul Haris Abu Bakar, my best friends
Ahmad Amsyar and Iman Nurhaqim. To Madam Faniza and Madam Masariah, who
always support me and as well to my dear friends Ina Amira and Ainul Afifi Zafirah.
And also to all my friends unmentioned. Nothing can be possible without you guys!
3. Jerusalem, where they call
it ‘the safest place on Earth’. When
something happens to a Muslim, the
whole Islamic world will know. When
a Christian gets hurt, the whole Chris-
tian world will respond. And when a
Jew gets attacked, the entire Jewish so-
ciety will be aware.
The uniqueness of Jerusalem
lies in the status of the city being a holy
site for three religions – Christianity,
Judaism and the third holiest site in Is-
lam. It is where Jesus is said to be cru-
cified, where Muhammad ascended to
Heaven in the Night Trip, and where
remnants of the Jewish temple said to
be built around 3,000 years ago.
For centuries and centuries,
countless people and empires have
conquered the city of Jerusalem. The
Romans, the Crusaders, the Abbasid
caliphate and the Ottomans, to name
a few. Many of these civilizations have
settled at the city with one reason – to
claim the land as theirs. However,
Jerusalem is a neutral ground to be
shared by Muslims, Christians and
Jews from all around the world.
The mixed architecture of the
buildings influenced by various
civilizations are one of things that
make Jerusalem most unique. The Old
City of Jerusalem lies behind the walls,
built by the Ottoman monarch Sulei-
man the Magnificent. With Muslims,
Christians and Jews living together in
peace and harmony behind the walls,
that amazes me how they can cope re-
ligious tolerance and live without ra-
cial abuse.
Jerusalem, despite being a small city,
yet it is packed with places to
discover. It is never enough to visit
there just once. That is the reason why
millions make their pilgrimage to
Jerusalem every year.
4
5
Jerusalem of Gold
5. “Where are you from? Are
you Muslims?” asked the Israeli sol-
diers guarding the boundaries of the
Temple Mount. They would restrict
non-Muslims from entering the
area. With a confident reply, “Malay-
sia” we were allowed in. The feeling
of entering the boundaries of the
third holiest site in Islam is surreal.
The Temple Mount, or
‘al-Haram ash-Sharif’ as the Arabs
called it is indeed historic. Jews refer
it as the holiest place in Judaism, the
place where the Temple stood before
being destroyed by the Romans in
70 CE. Muslims believe that Mu-
hammad was transported from the
Sacred Mosque in Mecca to al-Aqsa
during the Night Journey.
As you walk along the Tem-
ple Mount, you can find the Dome of
the Rock, another holy site of Mus-
lims, influenced by Byzantine archi-
tecture. The minarets are derived
from various architectures, some of
them being Mameluke and Otto-
man as well. The architecture of the
al-Aqsa mosque under the dome are
of the Corinthian order, and made
from Italian white marble. These are
what makes the Temple Mount very
unique.
However, remnants of the
Temple still remained in the Western
Wall, where the Jews now yearn and
pray for redemption and revival. The
Jews call it the ‘HaKotel HaMa’aravi’
, the wall has become a unique place
of prayer, and a symbol of Jewish na-
tional unity.
Fights have been ongoing be-
tween Jews and Muslims by claiming
that the Temple was theirs. Bomb-
ing attempts have been plotted by
Jew extremists and not to mention,
havoc by the radical Muslims. It ex-
plains why the Israeli army guards
the boundaries, and it is a good step
to ensure the peace of Jerusalem.
8
9
Temple Mount: Facts and Myths
9. Another site
associated with the Temple
Mount is Mount Zion. As
the highest peak of the old
city of Jerusalem, it hosts
some of the most iconic
landmarks including the
Dormition Abbey, King
David’s Tomb and the
Room of the Last Supper.
The Chamber of the Holo-
caust, the precursor of Yad
Vashem, is also located on
Mount Zion.
According to local
tradition, it was on the
Dormition Abbey, near
the site of the Last Supper,
that the Blessed Virgin
Mary fell asleep. In Ortho-
doxy and Catholicism, as
in the language of scrip-
ture, death is often called
a “sleeping” or “falling
asleep”. The Room of the
Last Supper, where it is
said that Jesus had the last
supper with his disciples
was turned into a mosque
as you can see the mehrab
and Quranic verses.
Mount Zion also
hosts King David’s tomb. It
is a site-turned-synagogue
viewed as the burial place
of David, King of Israel,
according to a tradition
beginning in the 12th cen-
tury. However the authen-
ticity of the tomb has been
debatable as according to
the Bible, David was actu-
ally buried within the City
of David together with his
forefathers.
In overview,
Mount Zion is rich with
architecture, blended with
three different faiths. A
subtle, vast mountain full
of heritage.
16
17
Mount Zion
13. A large mountain full of
bodies waiting to be resurrected in
Judgement Day, The Mount of Ol-
ives has been used as a Jewish cem-
etery for over 3,000 years, and holds
approximately 150,000 graves, mak-
ing it central in the tradition of Jew-
ish cemeteries.
According to Christian be-
liefs, the Mount is also revered to
be where the Gospel took place, and
where Jesus ascended to Heaven. Be-
cause of that, it has been a place of
worship for Christianity, and many
Christians come to the Mount every
year for their pilgrimage.
The Jews put the Mount as
a very special place in their heart.
The resting place of many figures
mentioned in their Books; Zechari-
ah, Absalom as well as their former
Prime Minister Menachem Begin,
who requested to be buried here.
Many Jews have wanted to be buried
on the Mount of Olives since antiq-
uity, based on the Jewish tradition
that when the Messiah comes, the
resurrection of the dead will begin
there.
The population in Mount
of Olives is 130,000, dominated by
Muslim and Christian Arabs, while
only one controversial Jewish family
resides there. It also hosts tombs of
some Muslim figures, such as Rā-
bi’ah al-Basrī and Salman the Per-
sian.
On the peak also has a very
picturesque view of the Old City,
surrounded by the new area of Jeru-
salem.
24
Mount of Olives
25
16. In the middle of the Judean wil-
derness lies the tomb of Moses. It is a
shrine with a mosque built on top of it.
The Tomb has been the site of annual pil-
grimage since the time of Saladin.
The tomb is venerated by Mus-
lims as a holy site as Moses, or Nabi Musa
is a prophet of their religion. Around it
is the grave of Muslim Bedouins. The bi-
tuminous rocks around the shrine add
to its mystique and sanctity, as they are
flammable and used by pilgrims as fuel
for warmth and cooking.
The Maqam represents Islamic
architecture. It is a huge storey build-
ing topped by a complex of Domes. The
building consists of a large courtyard sur-
rounded by over 120 rooms. The main
mosque, with a minaret lies against the
Western Wall of the courtyard.
30
31
Tomb of Moses
18. As one of the cities believed to the oldest in the
world, Jericho is located 258 metres below sea level in a
mountainous area with abundant land and fresh springs.
It is described in the Hebrew Bible as the “City of Palm
Trees”. Copious springs in and around the city attracted
human habitation for thousands of years.
Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of
more than 20 successive settlements in Jericho, the first
of which dates back 11,000 years. The constant sunshine,
rich alluvial soil, and abundant water from the spring
have always made Jericho an attractive place for settle-
ment.
In Jericho lies the Mount of Temptation, where
Jesus is said to be tempted by the devil. It has become
a tourist attraction and pilgrimage site for Christians.
There is also a 1,300-metre cable car to the top of the
Mount, where there is the Monastery of Temptation.
3534
FromJericho, with Temptation
20. The City of Abra-
ham, Hebron located in
the south of Jerusalem is
uniquely a city shared by
Israelis and Palestinians,
Arabs and Jews for such
a long time. Also known
as al-Khalil by the Arabs
due to the city being the
resting place of Abraham,
they call themselves as the
Khalilis.
Hebron is consid-
ered the second holiest site
in Judaism, and sacred as
well in Islam, with Abra-
ham being the father of the
two races – Arab and Jew.
No wonder how the Arabs
and Jews consider them-
selves as cousins. Let us re-
member in the holy books
that Abraham purchased a
land here as a burial plot,
which today stands as the
Ibrahimi Mosque, as the
Arabs say, or famously
known as the Cave of the
Patriarchs.
The Cave of the
Patriarchs now serves as
part mosque part syna-
gogue, which is divided
by Abraham’s tomb. These
are one of the proofs that
the people here can live
in peace in a community.
Famous biblical and Qura-
nic figures including Isaac,
Rebecca, Sarah, Leah, and
Jacob are laid to rest here
as well.
Before entering
the mosque, what stands
before it is an Israeli mil-
itary checkpoint. Who
could ever forget the 1994
Hebron massacre? Where
hundreds of praying Arabs
lost their lives to radical
Jew Baruch Goldstein of
the far-right Kach move-
ment. The inhumane act
was even denounce in the
Israeli Parliament, or the
Knesset. It is respectable
on how Israel has made se-
rious efforts to keep their
occupied territories safe.
3938
Hebron, the City of
Abraham
24. An 11 kilometre distance from Hebron, through the Jewish set-
tlements will take you to Halhul. It is a serene city governed by the
Palestinian Authority.
Halhul is the resting place for some of the Biblical and Quranic fig-
ures, notably Jonah. It is located in a mosque called “Masjid Yunus”.
4746
Halhul, Where
Jonah Rests
27. 5352
It is indeed that
Jerusalem is a land filled
with blessings. The feeling
is exceptional, even when
compared with going to
Mecca and Medina, as
there are people of three
religions living here in tol-
erance and harmony.
The excursion
opened my eyes as well,
with everything I heard
before going there as a pro-
paganda. The tensions and
fighting, are nothing here
but they are all in Gaza,
which is far away from this
peaceful land.
And people, either
Jews, Muslims or Chris-
tians reside without any
racial supremacy and get
along well. Most people
see Jews as evil and Mus-
lims as terrorists. Howev-
er, there is no religion that
teaches bad virtues and is
the wrongdoings of the ex-
tremists, radical thugs and
people who do not under-
stand the true teachings of
God.
As for the Israe-
li government, they are
not as bad as the Mus-
lim world interpret. They
have made serious efforts
to keep peace in the Holy
Land after it was annexed
in 1967. And their military
and police do no harm to
people, unless they are a
threat.
And it was a very
interesting trip indeed,
and when I reached back
to my homeland, I realised
I left my heart at Jerusa-
lem. Hoping that one day
I will return to pick up my
heart back. May the land
stays peaceful and harmo-
nious forever.
Jerusalem, in a
nutshell
28. 54
About the Photographer
“My interest in photography is a blessing in life,” says Aiman Syakir Abdul
Haris. Born in 24th May 1998 in Johor Bahru, Aiman was raised as an only child. As
for now, he is studying in Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah Putrajaya.
As he grew, Aiman never had interest in photos, and had the habit of drawing.
But on the age of 15, he got his first camera, the Nikon D3100. “I felt happy with it
because photography is when you get something realistic, compared to drawings that
are sometimes exaggerating,”
As being used to snap photos of school events, his most memorable moment
was being a matchday photographer of Johor Darul Ta’zim. “It was... Surreal. Amaz-
ing. I got the chance to snap pictures of my favourite footballers live in action!”
Aiman still uses his D3100 and a Nokia Lumia 1020 for his photos. “It’s not
about expensive professional cameras and lavish lenses, it’s how you master using it,”
29. Jerusalem, the holy land of three faiths. Yet it is bounded with
preposterous rumours and wild accusations.
In this photo journal, the writer proves all the rumours false as he
travels across the borders of the iron walls, through the
Judean wilderness and reaching the iconic Temple Mount.
A must have for anyone wanting to know the truth behind what
lies in Jerusalem.
The Holy Land.
A BUSAS Productions
Project
