One Friday in Jerusalem: Walking to Calvary; A Tour, a Faith, a Life

Tour guide Moubarak’s engaging thoughts and observations about Christ’s journey to Calvary will make readers feel as though they are walking the streets of Jerusalem. Combining insights as a native of Jerusalem who grew up near the Via Dolorosa (the Way of Sorrows) and as a Palestinian Christian­—a marginalized identity that, in his words, allows him to identify with the also-rejected Christ—Moubarak brings both past and present to life as he leads readers down the road of Christ’s last steps. His descriptive prose (“The Old City of Jerusalem is a mosaic of ancient churches... Byzantine Greeks. Coptic and Ethiopian churches. African Christians... medieval Latin Catholic churches from the Crusader era, and churches of the Franciscan Terra Sancta mission”) conjures the sights and smells of modern-day Jerusalem, with vendors standing beside sacred locations. Photos round out the text, providing glimpses of locations associated with the 14 stations of the cross. At each stop, Moubarak recounts personal stories tied to the themes as well as pertinent insight into biblical and historical accounts of what Christ encountered as he was put on trial, tortured, and forced to carry his cross to Calvary. Moubarak’s observations about the meaning of Gethsemane (oil press), the breaking of Christ’s body, and how the rivalry between Ishmael and Isaac extends to current conflicts in the Middle East are particularly revealing. Anyone interested in the Christian heritage of Jerusalem will relish Moubarak’s tour. (BookLife)