Lukas Landmann. Jerusalem: Faces of a City

Faces of a City Jerusalem:

Jerusalem: Faces

of a City

The publication of this book has been made possible by the generous donation of an anonymous Maecenas.

Publisher and author thank an Anonymous Foundation, Niklaus and Zusanne Friederich, the Irene Bollag-Herzheimer Foundation, the Dr. Georg and Josi Guggenheim-Bloch Foundation, the Saly Frommer Foundation and the Eva and Herbert Wohlmann-Bloch Foundation for their support.

Translators Hebrew: Noam Ben Yishai, Galia Vurgan

Translators Arabic: Saed Abo Amsha, Sawsan Abo Amsha

Editor English: Katherine Bird

Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek

The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de.

© 2024 Schwabe Verlag, Schwabe Verlagsgruppe AG, Basel, Schweiz

This work is protected by copyright. No part of it may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or translated, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Cover illustration: © Lukas Landmann

Cover: icona basel gmbh, Basel

Typesetting: Andreas Färber, mittelstadt 21, Vogtsburg-Burkheim

Print: BALTO print, Vilnius

Printed in the EU

ISBN Print 978-3-7965-4909-0

rights@schwabe.ch www.schwabe.ch

To Varda who shared and cared

The old lady is stronger than all those who tried to rule her because nobody can completely erase her bygone legacy. There is no city like Jerusalem. No other metropolis has preserved its past so well, layer on layer. That so much has survived is all the more remarkable considering what Jerusalem has endured over the centuries: earthquakes, fires, plagues and, most of all, sacks by enemy armies. No other city in the world displays so many faces or facets to a visitor. It is the multitude of traditions that makes this city special. It is like a mosaic composed of many different singular tiny stones which only as a whole yield a comprehensive picture.

How to use this book

The purpose of this book is to present an arbitrary choice of these components by following the historical development of the city. Within the various chapters, the items are arranged chronologically where appropriate. The charge can undoubtably be leveled that this choice is biased. Admittedly, it is and even more so because it views this singular city through the eyes of an outsider. If this bias is more distorted, prejudiced, and skewed than that of the inhabitants and participants in the current conflict is to be decided by the reader.

This book is the result of many journeys to and longer stays in Jerusalem. Taking the pictures was a great experience for approaching the city’s soul; writing the texts led to many discoveries. The decision to present all texts in Hebrew, English, and Arabic reflects the desire to pay respect to all religions and civilizations that have shaped the face of the city.

The author and publisher would like to apologize to their Hebrew and Arabic readers for several irritations they are asking them to endure. First, we expect them to read from left to right and to flip the pages the wrong way. This was not a light-hearted decision. It was taken in the belief that readers of Semitic languages are more used to English books than Westerners are to reading from right to left. Second, we do not include the Jewish and Muslim calendars but give dates in the Western format only. Since neither the Jewish nor the Muslim year coincide with the Western calendar, slight mistakes in dating might arise. This decision was taken for reasons of space and legibility although we are aware of the high probability of being branded “Neo-Orientalists”. Again, we trust in the ability of Hebrew and Arabic speakers to adapt to the Western style. And third, we use names for places and time periods that are common in the Western world but often contrast to Hebrew or Arabic practice. For the sake of readability and space we refrained from enumerating all synonyms.

Acknowledgements

My heartfelt thanks are offered to the many people who helped me in the preparation of this book. I would not have been able to do it without them. Their number makes it impossible to acknowledge all of them. But some of them made great efforts and provided continuous support. Special thanks go to:

The family of my late friend Yaacov Steiner, especially his wife Ziona and their daughter Naomi, for their unwavering friendship and support – even when I was nagging them. To Benjamin Kedar for his brilliant suggestions and his patience in answering the many silly questions of a non-historian. To Eyal Meron for his meticulous sense of scientific honesty and for destroying my preconceived ideas and views. To Fathers Koryoun and Parsegh Kalemderian, and Mr. Levon Kalaydjian for giving me access to the Armenian Compound and introducing me to the old and rich Armenian traditions. To Ali Qleibo and the families of Ameer Sabri and Ghassan Abdullah, all of whom opened a door for me into a Palestinian home and kitchen. To Bilham Rechtman and the Provosts Schmidt, Stuhlmann, and Lenz from the Redeemer Church as well as to Pastor Zander from Augusta Victoria for giving me access to their towers day and night. To Ralf Rothenbusch from Paulushaus for his unceasing support in all possible situations. To P. Jean-Michel de Tarragon from the Ecole Biblique de Jérusalem for introducing me to the tradition of photographing this city and for sharing his profound knowledge of history and archeology. To the staff of the Jerusalem Foundation, which was founded by the legendary Mayor Teddy Kollek and continues his work for all the people living in Jerusalem, for support in many matters. Finally, to my son Daniel and Andreas Kettner, Land Register and Survey Office of Basel-Stadt, who provided the 3D  relief maps of the topography. And last but not least my thanks go to Ludwig Heuss, Susanne Franzkeit, Ruth Vachek and Andreas Färber from Schwabe Verlag for their unwavering support of this project during all these years and for its realization.

Lukas Landmann

Jerusalem and Basel, October 2023

Jerusalem’s Old City (left, red) lies close to the intersection of the central link road (red) connecting the coastal plain with the Jordan Valley and with the watershed and the Mountain Road (blue). Not surprisingly, modern highways closely follow these ancient roads.

The highest point of today’s Old City is in the northwest, in the Christian Quarter. From there, the Southwestern Ridge between the Hinnom and Central Valleys descends southwards through the Armenian Quarter to Mount Zion. The Southeastern Ridge between the Central and Kidron Valleys shows a distinct decline into the Muslim Quarter. Then, after a depression that is hardly noticeable today (Via Dolorosa) it peaks (744 m) at the Dome of the Rock. It continues as a spur over the Ophel area to the City of David where the oldest settlement was situated and ends at the confluence of the Central into the Kidron Valleys.

Southeastern Ridge

Gihon Spring

Early