Jerusalem’s ancient sites offer some of the most stirring moments of the human experience—some timeless, some irreducibly modern.
Jerusalem is beautiful. Jerusalem is holy. It is contested (“hotly”). It is the center of spirituality, the seat of the soul, a magnificence, a wonder, a place without which we would all be forever without words. Jerusalem is made into many things by many people, but few of those who dream of Jerusalem actually live there.
Those who do know a different Jerusalem. For them, it’s a home, a place, a city where they work, pray, eat and love. And they, its residents, are many and various: Catholic nuns, Orthodox priests, Hassidic Jews, Muslim sheikhs, and paupers, workers, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters of all creeds, colors and callings. Jerusalem might be many things, but without its people it is nothing.
Jerusalem cannot be captured in a single photo essay. This, the first in an occasional series, offers a glimpse of the people found at Jerusalem’s most unforgettable sites.
Click on arrows to navigate. For best results, click on each photo individually to see its full detail and proportions.
Photos: The Tower/Aviram Valdman
- City of Gold and Dreams and Blood / Aviram Valdman
A venerable Hassid at a yeshiva near the tomb of King David. Photo: Aviram Valdman/The Tower
- The Calm Before
Palestinian children chat with Israeli riot police on ‘Naqba Day.’ Photo: Aviram Valdman/The Tower
- On Call
Israeli Policemen take advantage of a few minutes of down time. Photo: Aviram Valdman/The Tower
- Blue on Blue
Israeli police prepare for rioting on ‘Naqba Day’ in Jerusalem. Photo: Aviram Valdman/The Tower
- Casualties
An ambulance treats people injured in Naqba Day rioting. Photo: Aviram Valdman/The Tower
- Pious Pause
Tourists take a breath in the atrium in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Photo: Aviram Valdman/The Tower
- The Lord’s Foot Soldier
An Ethiopian man at the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in the Old City.
- Fighting Darkness
A man prays in the sanctity of the Holy Sepulchre. Photo: Aviram Valdman/The Tower
- Cry of Ancient Souls
A nun prays outside the Rotunda of the Anastasis, believed by some to be Jesus’ burial place. Photo: Aviram Valdman/The Tower
- Fount of Youth and Health
A Palestinian girl outside Augusta Victoria Hospital. Photo: Aviram Valdman/The Tower
- Vista and Hope
A timeless view of the Mount of Olives, seen from Augusta Victoria. Photo: Aviram Valdman/The Tower
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