At least that’s where I believe this was taken judging by its placement in my print photo gallery.

After some searching on my computer, I managed to find a version of a full-page article I had written for my then — and now defunct — newspaper, the Turkish Daily News, detailing our trip to Israel. Since the TDN’s website no longer exists, I can’t tell exactly when it was published (probably around 1998), but about the Christian Quarter I had said:

“Pilgrim-oriented, or more precisely, tourist-oriented, aptly describes the Christian Quarter, which was packed with worshippers from every denomination of Christendom imaginable -- Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Armenian, Syrian, Coptic -- and many more I couldn't begin to recognize, as well as visitors from what sounded like everywhere in the world. The religious sites were interesting, but I couldn't help wondering just who had decided that this was the spot where Christ had carried his cross or had ascended to heaven. It was in Jerusalem where I had absolutely the least sense of him -- I think the mobs of tourists and the abundance of tacky souvenir shops, selling everything from olive-wood rosaries to gaudy crucifixes and icons destroyed any feeling of reverence for me. We did go into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, along with every other visitor in town, but strangely enough the actual sanctuary was closed off to the public, and all we could see were various areas of importance dotted about the place, such as the magnificent silver-clad shrine marking the spot where Christ is purported to have been crucified, and the sites where he is said to have been buried and resurrected from the dead.”

Bazaar, Christian Quarter, Old City of Jerusalem, posted earlier: