With over 5000 years of turbulent history behind it, Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) is one of the oldest cities in the world. Uniquely, it is sacred to thre


With over 5000 years of turbulent history behind it, Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) is one of the oldest cities in the world. Uniquely, it is sacred to three great monotheist, Abrahamic religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam. This remains a source of much conflict. Here we see men praying at the most holy site in Judaism - the Western Wall, previously known as the Wailing Wall before its reconquest by Israel. It is also sacred to Muslims. The walls are the last ruins remaining of the great Solomonic Temple of Antiquity, and Jews come from around the world to pray here - here, in an extended series of shots, we see some of them. Note we only see men here; the site is segregated and men and women have separate allocated areas for prayer, ritual and meditation. The ones in all black are Orthodox (often Hasid) or ultra-Orthodox (Haredi). They often have beards or sidelocks, and may wear distinct items of religious clothing such as tallit (black and white prayer shawl with tsitsit - fringes), kippah (skull cap) and tefillin (phylactaries or leather boxes containing fragments of the holy Torah).


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Photo credit: © Jon Bower / Alamy / Afripics
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