A holy mecca for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Jerusalem's symbolic importance has permeated history since around 3000 BCE. The religious and historical significance of the city has been a point of controversy and the subject of an ongoing battle between Israel and Palestine, who both claim the city as their capital. But now, in commemoration of Assouline Publishing's ten year anniversary of its The Light of series, the seemingly empty city’s monumental architecture and pilgrimage sites, including The Dome of the Rock, Dormition Church, and the Western Wall, have been brilliantly captured by photographer Jean-Michel Berts. The Light of Jerusalem opens with excerpts from Elie Wiesel's novel A Beggar in Jerusalem, and the stage is set for a dreamlike journey through the streets of the Promised Land at the breaking of dawn.
Jean-Michel Berts
A major Christian pilgrimage site since at least the 4th century, the complex encloses the places believed to be Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified, and the tomb where he was laid to rest.
Jean-Michel Berts
Located on Mount Moriah, this is where it is believed God spared Abraham from offering his son Issac as a sacrifice. Built between 687 and 691, the dome also enshrines the rock from which Muhammad is said to have ascended to heaven.
The Antonia Tower is part of a fortress built by Herod the Great and named after his patron, Mark Antony.
Jean-Michel Berts
Completed in 1898, the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer was built on land given to Kaiser Wilhelm I of Prussia by the Ottoman Sultan Abdulaziz. Today, it houses congregations worshipping in Arabic, German, Danish, and English.
The Abbey of the Dormition sits on Mount Zion, just outside the walls of the Old City to the southwest, near the Zion Gate. The site also includes the Cenacle, the building believed to be the place of the Last Supper.
Jean-Michel Berts
One of the holiest sites in Judaism, it is a remnant of the ancient wall surrounding the Temple courtyard. Today pilgrams place their prayers written on slips of paper in the cracks between the stones.
The bronze doors of Bikur Cholim Hospital were crafted by noted Israeli artist Ze'ev Raban (1890-1970).
As dawn illuminates a park bench in the Yemin Moshe quarter, Dormition Abbey can be seen in the distance.
Jean-Michel Berts
