Photos cannot convey how hot, dark, dirty and crowded it was in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Tempers flared as people shoved into lines ahead of those who had waited for hours. It was difficult to remember that this is considered the holiest Christian site in the world. This is supposed to be the place where Jesus was put to death and where he rose from the dead.

Three primary Christian sects control the church - the Greek Orthodox, the Armenian Apostolic and Roman Catholic churches. The Coptic Orthodox, the Ethiopian Orthodox and the Syrian Orthodox also are represented. A truce has been negotiated and they have agreed to the locations and times that each can worship.

The site was once used as a quarry. In 135 AD Emperor Hadrian built a temple to Aphrodite after filling in the quarry. Emperor Constantine the Great tore down the temple and built a church here in 326 AD. When the cleared away the fill in the quarry they struck rock. They decided that this was the Rock of Golgotha. Legend has it that three crosses were found - the very crosses that Jesus and the thieves had been crucified.
The Persians invaded in 614 AD. They took the cross and a fire damaged the building. In 1630 Emperor Heraclius defeated the Persians and recaptured the cross and placed it back in the church. In 638 the Muslims took over Jerusalem. Over the following years the church suffered from fire, earthquakes and other neglect. In 1959 the three controlling Christian groups were finally able to agree on a plan to repair the building.