.The Via Dolorosa is the street on which Jesus proceeded with the cross from where he was condemned to where he was actually crucified. It beings in the Chapel of Flagellation, where he was condemned and punished, and meanders down the Old City streets to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The first nine stations are on the road - some whole chapels, some no more than sign markers - and the last 6 are actually in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and are not pictured here.
I'm not going to go over what happened at every station on this website. There are a million websites that will tell you just that. He walked, he fell a bunch of times, he was rebuked, he was helped.
I began the walk at the first station. I was the only person on this walk on teh day I did it, and I wasn't even Christian.
Welcome!
Kids running down the Via Dolorosa
A mosque somewhere along the Via Dolorosa
I don't remember where this was, for the life of me, or what this is.
The Chapel of the Flagellation
The entrance to the Sanctuary which contains the Chapel of the Flagellation and the Chapel of the Cross
The entrance
They found this inscription from the Roman era on the site
More Roman-era writing
Even more! I think some of these might have been faked.
Entrance to the Chapel
Above the entrance
Inside the chapel
The door as you entered, which I thought was sort of interesting.
The altar, where Jesus was whipped by the Romans (none of this stuff was here at the time)
The ceiling
On the walls they had these four murals. This is St. Francis.
This one is Mary. Well, one of them.
I think this is Peter. Or Paul. I don't know.
This is ... somebody.
This is one of the stainglasses
Glass 2
3
The beautiful podium for the chapel
The Chapel of the Cross
Where Jesus received the cross he would carry
A statue of the moment
The chapel itself. The lighting was terrible.
The First Station
The first station, which is now a Muslim library or something and is closed.
The Second Station
The second station
The Third Station
The third station marker
The third station, which had this little chapel you could go into.
The inside of the chapel
I don't know what this is. I presume it's the exact spot.
The altar decorations
The Fourth Station
The fourth station marker
The door to a chapel at the Fourth Station
A close-up of the carving, and the clothing being sold next to it
The Fifth Station
The fifth station marker
The fifth station, which had this chapel where you could go in
Inside the chapel
The altar in the chapel
Commemorating the fifth station
The Sixth Station
The sixth station marker
The sixth station, which has a chapel of its own
Chapel at the Sixth Station
A picture and candle in the chapel
A picture of Jesus. But you could have figured that out by yourself.
In the chapel
Deeper into this chapel
Deeper and deeper
A wooden cross on the wall
A nun at the shop next to the chapel. The nuns make beautiful artwork to support themselves.
The Seventh Station
The seventh station marker
The seventh station
There was this bird cage on the wall. Either the guy in the shop across had a bird or he was selling a bird.
The Eight Station
The eighth station marker.
The station itself
There was this hole. It's not very acient and I don't know what it was about.
The Ninth Station
The 9th station, which was closed.
The offices of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchy, across from the 9th station
Close-up of the arch
I don't know why it says this. I think the prison where he was held is actually in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Maybe it's under dispute.
The entrance to one of many, many monasteries in the Christian Quarter of the Old City