Photo:
RIA Novosti
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who arrived in Israel late Wednesday evening walked around the Old city of Jerusalem. The Prime Minister visited two key religious monument – the Temple of the Holy Sepulchre and the Wailing Wall.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Jerusalem Church of the Resurrection, stands on the spot where, according to Church tradition, was crucified, buried and then resurrected Jesus Christ. First Church of the Holy Sepulchre was laid Constantine. The Church of the Resurrection was consecrated in 335 g. In the following centuries the architecture of the Temple has been repeatedly changed.
The modern Church of the Holy Sepulchre – is a huge architectural complex that includes, in particular, Golgotha the place of Crucifixion and the Edicule – a small bathing chapel which contains the Holy Sepulchre. In the Temple there are several active monasteries.
The Wailing wall is part of the ancient wall around the Western side of the Temple mount in the Old city of Jerusalem, survived the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 ad Along with the Temple mount is the most important Shrine of Judaism, a place of prayer and object of pilgrimage of the Jews.
During the restructuring and expansion of the building of the Temple (37-4 BCE) on the orders of king Herod, the Temple mount was enclosed by a retaining wall. Of the entire temple complex to the present day preserved only the Western part of the wall with a length of 485 m. it is called the Wailing Wall. Pilgrims traditionally between the stones of the wall, leave notes with requests to God.