Thousands of Christian pilgrims converged on Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Saturday hoping to spend a few moments at the tomb in which they believe Jesus was buried before rising again.The rambling ancient church, which also encloses what is believed to be Calvary, where Jesus was crucified, is located on a small plaza in the Christian quarter of the Old City, surrounded by a warren of narrow streets.
"I was eager to come here so that my son could be blessed," said Sonnita, a 23-year-old Indian sitting with her nine-month-old baby at the Stone of Unction, where Jesus' body was washed and prepared for burial.
Behind her and others, the faithful wait their turn to pray before the slab of polished red stone, a few steps inside the massive doors of the church. Some just stand reverently, arms crossed, amid the ever-present odour of incense and candles, while others kneel and kiss the stone or touch their foreheads to it.
A few metres (yards) on, and around the corner of a large Greek Orthodox chapel, more pilgrims queue up, many laden with religious souvenirs, to pray before the tomb itself.
To the strains of organ music, the Latin (Roman Catholic) patriarch of Jerusalem, Monsignor Fuad Twal, completes his celebration of mass, as huge church bells ring out.
Among those missing are some Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, descendants of the world's first Christians, who can only attend if they obtain a special dispensation from the Israeli authorities.
The Christian holidays, which culiminate on Sunday with Easter for Catholics and Protestants, coincide with the Jewish holiday of Passover, and Israel has sealed off the West Bank.
Manuel Rofa, 23, lives in the Old City, but said that "with the economic crisis, my heart's not in it, and I preferred not to go to the Holy Sepulchre to save myself having to pass through checkpoints of Israeli soldiers."
Nuha Ort, 53, said "there is no joy. The political situation is blocked. My husband and I are unemployed, and it is impossible to feed our six children" from welfare payments.
While most Christians believe the Holy Sepulchre to be the site of the crucifixion and burial, some Protestants think the real tomb is located in a garden outside the city walls, about a kilometre (half a mile) away and discovered in 1867.
Biblical accounts speak of Jesus being buried outside the walls. At the time of the crucifixion, however, both sites were outside the walls, which were extended outward shortly afterwards.
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(Source: AFP)