You might be unimpressed as you stare at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre from the courtyard. This will change your mind. You are about to see the Rock of Calvary (or Golgotha) where Jesus was crucified. Also inside is His tomb. The existing complex consists of more than 30 chapels. This is the result of over two millenniums of evolution. In 135 AD, Roman emperor Hadrian built a pagan temple here. In 326, Constantine the Great replaced it with a church surrounding where he believed Jesus was killed on the cross and buried (he also commissioned a church in Bethlehem where Jesus was born). From 614 through 1808, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre suffered numerous occupations, fires and earthquakes. Each time, it has been rebuilt or restored. Before you enter, notice the wooden ladder on the second level. It symbolizes the Status Quo. This 1757 decree among six Christian communities agreed no changes – however small – can be made to nine Holy Places in Jerusalem and Bethlehem without a consensus. So, the Immovable Ladder has stayed in place since last used by a mason in 1728.
