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I can not begin to tell you how much Bob and I enjoyed our first trip to Israel. We met incredible people on our tour and I know we will stay in touch. Our tour guide had such passion for his country that it was infectious. Nobody wanted the tour to end!

The trip to Israel and Jordan was a wonderful experience. We had a very congenial group on the tour as well as very pleasant accommodations.
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Home > Israel Vacation Guide > Jerusalem > Church of The Holy Sepulchre

Church of The Holy Sepulchre »

» Easily the most celebrated, yet most contentious, church in Christendom, the Holy Sepulchre contains the traditional sites of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus under one roof.

The site was rediscovered in the corner of the western forum of the Hadrianic city Aelia Capitolina by Queen Helena, Constantine's mother, who knocked the temple down and built a huge basilica, which was dedicated on Easter day in the year 326.

The church was partially rebuilt in the next century by Justinian, and remained untouched until 1009, when the mad caliph Hakim destroyed virtually all of it. It was patched up by a Monk called Robert, but when the Crusaders came across the city, around the year 1099, the church was rebuilt to only half of its original size, and thus it stands today.

- The Israel Ministry of Tourism
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Church of the Holy Sepulchre