Travel

The Most Melancholic of Ancient Cities JERUSALEM

Written by TR Dergisi

That city, with a soil mixed with blood and war… I dedicate this article to ancient Jerusalem, and the treasured memory of Saladin Ayyubid.

The cities located in the same region with same cultures, are similar… Most of the time, you confuse one with the other. The Balkan cities carry traces of the same geography and close cultures. The historical monuments of Middle East, its chaos, and its mosques make the cities similar even if you cross borders. At first sight, the European cities with rivers running through them look like replicas. However, each city boasts a distinct colour, smell, shade of green, and a different sky. People change when places change just like languages, and each city whispers new and different things to you…

CITY THAT SPREADS ENERGY

There are also ancient cities… Cities desired by all since their establishment with their strategic importance… There are cities, the most important stops in the history of the world, which have formed or influenced the global culture, for which blood was shed,  which could not be shared. Cities that are religion, economy, culture and science centres with the energy they spread… Istanbul, for instance… For me, the most melancholic among these is Jerusalem. Jerusalem’s soil is mixed with blood and war… Jerusalem is never in peace, it never feels relief, it cannot open its hands to heavens and pray peacefully for the humanity… The city that was home to all prophets of divine religions, saints, holy people, wise men but sadly the sad and despairing Jerusalem has never experienced love and beauty…

MILLIONS FLOOD THE CITY

The prayers are performed, the bells toll, the people worship in synagogues… Millions of people of all religions and races, roam the narrow streets. Millions flood the city to seek the truth; prayers rise, but no one hears the prayer of others. One does not observe how another worships. Jerusalem cannot comfortably embrace its guests, nor can hold them close. This divine city that should bear goodness, love and affection in its each stone, still goes through wars as it has throughout its history… Still in fear, in doubt and seeking for justice, it hopelessly proceeds towards future. The followers of three divine religions, all believers of Allah, cannot come to Jerusalem and worship in peace… In the 21st century, injustice still runs rampant over the remains of the temple of Solomon, known for his fairness, described in the Holy Koran. Jesus who said “God is love,” made his last journey towards the hills of Jerusalem, suffering under such a terrible burden, walking a long way through narrow stairways… Today, nothing has changed in Jerusalem. Today hundreds, thousands of people are tortured, their houses are destroyed, their children are killed, and fire devours their souls…

GIANT STONE WALLS

What is this war about, what is it that cannot people share? In fact, the beloved Prophet Mohammed who said, “All countries belong to God, all people are his subjects, the whole world is a temple for Muslims,” ascended the heaven here. But how did the human, the most honourable of all creatures, turn into a demon one day, shedding blood and making the universe unhabitable? Jerusalem… O, Jerusalem… I am looking at you from the top of a hill… Qubbat as-Sakhrah with its golden dome… The Wailing Wall nearby… Churches, synagogues… With prayers uttered, performed in tears… The Ottoman city walls, built by command of Suleiman the Magnificent, surrounds this sacred area, embracing it with its arms… Giant stone walls that embrace all divine religions with the tolerance preached by Islam…

JEWISH YOUTH…

You tour in the area designated by the walls… It is more difficult to pass through narrow roads during prayer times. Sellers, not paying attention to any hygiene rules, sell a variety of fish, bread, and various herbs side by side either on a small cloth or a newspaper page where you put your step on… Traditional candies can be found in candy shops along with jelly that resemble plastic… Everywhere there is an intense falafel smell. There is confusion, chaos; every language is spoken but all the sellers are smiling, and trying to sell their merchandise. People smile at you in the crowd, with faces lit up upon hearing words “Turkey, Istanbul”… When you say these words, all doors open for you. People chat happily in Turkish-Arabic-English… Until they see other people at a distance: Young Jewish girls and boys, each more beautiful than the next… They pass you by when you least expect in uniforms, with sullen faces, holding onto large guns in their hands. When they come in view, the faces go dark, and there is grudge and hatred in people’s gazes… Suddenly those beautiful young people become so ugly that you cannot look at them. Your heart surrenders to sadness… Fortunately, you hear a whisper in your ear: “Beware the curse of the oppressed. There is no curtain between them and Allah”.

ISTANBUL… I WISH…

I leave Jerusalem and head towards the airport in Tel Aviv. It is 9 in the evening… A distinct and gigantic airport… It was built for thousands of people but almost all the shops are closed even in evening hours… Passengers go through intense questioning by young Jewish people in this deserted place… I board on a Turkish Airlines plane… Genial flight attendants on the plane… It is as if they affectionately say “You are home now,”. And I fly over Istanbul. It is past midnight… Istanbul is brilliant under us… There is a crowd at the airport… Shoppers, taxi queues, hundreds of people who welcome those arriving… You suddenly feel alive. Istanbul, ancient Istanbul, holy Istanbul, world capital Istanbul… Tolerant Istanbul where all beliefs cohabit without conflict… I wish the sister cities in the Middle East were as lucky as you. I wish you could embrace Jerusalem with all its sadness, anger and loneliness with your great energy… Who knows, maybe one day… “

About the author

TR Dergisi

Leave a Comment