For us, the chaos ended in a quiet alley where the ninth Station of the Cross hung outside a Coptic Orthodox church. Across a courtyard and through an Ethiopian chapel, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher houses the last five Stations of the Via Dolorosa. Forever arguing, the groups do not even agree on how best to maintain and refurbish the church. In the resulting gloom, tourists wait in line to approach Golgotha, the traditional site of Christ's crucifixion. A stony hill covered by glass and chapels, only a tiny piece of rock is actually exposed to the touch.
Pilgrims awkwardly crawl under the altar atop it to venerate the spot.
The Church of the Holy Sepulcher also houses the stone upon which Christ's body may have been purified, which we saw many Greeks venerate by washing it with rose water. Other chapels, among them one honoring Adam, are silent by comparison. The pope's trip will include stops at Jerusalem sites holy to other faiths, including the El-Aqsa mosque. Muslims do not allow photos of the interior of mosques, even El-Aqsa, the biggest one in Israel. The atmosphere is hushed inside the building, a huge, square space with soft carpets lining the floor and geometric designs on the walls.