Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs

This is the site of the cave Abraham bought from the Hittites to use as a tomb for his wife Sarah. Later he was buried here by his sons Isaac and Ishmael. Also Isaac and his wife Rebecca plus their son Jacob and his wife Leah are buried here. The actual tombs in the cave are well below the mosque and synagogue in the building. The sarcophagi are representative but do not hold the remains.
Great significance is applied to this site as this is the 1st recorded purchase of land (something like 3,800 years ago) in what became known as the promised land by an ancestor of the faiths. That is intentionally plural because Abraham is seen as the father of all 3 monotheistic faiths.
The building here over the actual caves was built by Herod more than 2,000 years ago. In recent years it has been divided into a mosque and a synagogue. Each with its own entrance that is not accessible to people of the "other" faith. Christians can access both sides.
The 1st picture looks at the 2,000 year old wall of the building. The 2nd picture is in the mosque with Jacob and Leah's mausoleums. The 3rd and 4th pictures are the sarcophagi of Abraham and Sarah. These are located between the two separated worship spaces so the Jewish and Muslim worshippers can easily see them.
The last picture is another sarcophagus, Isaac, I think.Leggi altro