The Church of the Holy Sepulcher with the Dome of the Rock in the background, Jerusalem, Palestine. Not only is the Church one of the oldest (built in 335) in the world, it is also an important site for the Christian community as it is believed to be the site where Jesus was crucified and buried. ⠀
//⠀
The church also has an interesting history. When the Arabs/Muslims entered Jerusalem under Caliph Umar Al-Khattab, Umar refused to pray there fearing future generations would misinterpret the gesture and take it as a pretext to turn the church into a mosque. Further, Umar wrote a decree prohibiting Muslims from praying at this location or any other Christian church (someone tell Erdogan).⠀
//⠀
The church is managed by six different Christian communities (Greek, Catholic, Armenian, Coptic, Syriac, and Ethiopian) through a 300 year old "status-quo". The agreement was introduced by the Ottoman Sultan in 1757 to stop clashes between the communities for church control. It states that none of Christian orders may alter any property without the consent of the other five orders. The immovable ladder (last picture) is the manifestation of this agreement, having been placed there for restoration work in 1726 where it hasn't moved since. ⠀
//⠀
The church is also a sign of inter-religious harmony, with the Christian communities entrusting the church keys to the Muslim Nusaybah family and the opening of the church doors to the Muslim Joudeh Al-Goudia family. The two Muslim families have shared this responsibility for 1400 years, protecting the holy site and keeping it open to the Christian faithful. Although symbolic, the arrangement has provided the stability the city needed and is a symbol of tolerance and coexistence.