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Some historical sources of interest:
from the Travels of Benjamin (circa 1170)
Benjamin of Tudela relates: "At Hebron there is a large place of worship called 'St. Abraham,' The natives erected there six sepulchers, which they tell foreigners are those of the Patriarchs and their wives, demanding money as a condition of seeing them. For an additional fee to the keeper of the cave, an iron door which dates from the time of our forefathers opens, and the visitor descends with a lighted candle. He crosses two empty caves, and in the third sees six tombs, on which the names of the three Patriarchs and their wives are inscribed in Hebrew characters. The cave is filled with barrels containing bones of people, which are taken there as to a sacred place. At the end of the field of the Machpelah stands Abraham's house with a spring in front of it".
From the Biblical archeological review:
These caves had only been rediscovered in 1119 CE by a monk named Arnoul, who had noticed a draught in the area near where the mihrab is at present, and had removed the flagstones and found a room lined with Herodian masonry. Arnoul, still searching for the source of the draught, hammered on the cave walls until he heard a hollow sound, pulled down the masonry in that area, and discovered a narrow passage. The narrow passage, which subsequently became known as the serdab (Arabic for passage), was similarly lined with masonry, but partly blocked up. Having unblocked the passage, Arnoul discovered a large round room with plastered walls. In the floor of the room, he found a square stone slightly different from the others and, upon removing it, found the first of the caves. The caves were filled with dust. After removing the dust, Arnoul found bones; believing the bones to be those of the Biblical Patriarchs, Arnoul washed them in wine and stacked them neatly. Arnoul carved inscriptions into the caves describing whose bones he believed them to be.....In addition there are three stone slabs, the middle one of which contains a partial inscription of Sura 2, verse 255, from the Qur'an, the famous Ayatul Kursi, Verse of the Throne.
We wake up to Adam's alarm, three times but it is worth it as he sets up his camera for a Dawn time lapse for the Ibrahimi Mosque. We stay with Gassan and his family in Hebron. What a lovely family. He is the only member of the family in Hebron now as the remainder of the family have moved to Amman. This is a city in conflict and pain. And yet, so much is going on here.Smiles, traders, the call the prayer, shopkeepers inviting us for tea and keen to tell us their story. Adam and I are walking through Hebron to the mosque. We ask a soldier for permission to walk through the restricted road where 'the other' is not allowed to walk. We walk through.
Pilgrims walking and the call to prayer beginning. it is both wonderful and strange being here at the Prophet Ibrahim/Abraham burial site. The place where he and so many of his family are buried. For Jews this is the second holiest place and for Muslims and Christians alike this place is both holy and significant with Ibrahim/Abraham as the father of all religions.
As I enter the mosque and talk to the Imam I realise that this place is a beginning not the end. It holds the beginning of the legacy of Ibrahim's/Abraham. This beginning leads to the very soul and spirit of the journey of human kind.
The mosque is now full and I sit next to the Imam as he readies for the sermon. He jumps up and rushes up the Mihrab and I watch the congregation listen to the sermon surrounded by the tombs of Ibrahim/Abraham and his family.
It is a magnificent moment. The tombs are in the prayer hall and we are embracing them - or are they embracing us? embracing all humanity.
The prayers finish and there is a sense of joy in the room. To think that this place is first mentioned in the Book of Genesis is humbling. There is also a local belief that the cave of Ibrahim/Abraham is the same cave where Adam buried Eve.
Yes this building is divided and surrounded by soldiers and yet this separation is in itself a message - A challenge to remind people to look for similarities and not the differences between us. We are all one family.
This is the perfect place to start our journey and embrace the message of peace, love, respect, giving and hope and embrace the beauty of the people and the world around us.
I hope that our journey has connected each one of us together - Habib, Nidal, George, Daniel, Josh, Adam, William, Yifa, Jayme, Claudia, Firoza and myself, as we have connected with the people along the path and I hope the people we have met along the path have connected with us - we were strangers but we always felt at home.
Thank you to my fellow travellers. We created a fellowship so let this be the fellowship of Al Khalil or the Fellowship of the friend.
Follow Yunus Sola 's next journey to travel the entire Ibrahim/Abraham's Path as a first journey and expedition which begins on April 1 2010
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