West Bank

After a brisk trek through the souk, our guide told us to wait for him “at the next corner”while he walked back to round up a few stragglers.

As we stood there, I glanced up at the street plaque and realized we were at Via Dolorosa This is the street along which Jesus carried his cross.

Like the rest of the souk, Via Dolorosa is lined with shops. It’s easy to think it’s a street like any other.

As you walk up Via Dolorosa, the stations of the cross are identified by a Roman numeral and a descriptive sculpture.

At the sixth station, for instance, the sculpture shows Veronica wiping Jesus’ brow with her shawl.

A brief account of this is also chiseled into the wall at the sixth station, although this was much easier to see in person than it is in my photo.Read more