Today’s Enlightening Entertainment will be presented in Arabic and English, with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Mongolian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Thai.

Greetings, pure-hearted viewers, and welcome to A Journey through Aesthetic Realms on Supreme Master Television. Today, let’s travel to the Holy Land and Jerusalem, believed to be one of the holiest cities in the world.

Today’s Jerusalem is a modern city, but there is also the Old City, a walled area that is the center of Jerusalem’s history. In fact, Jerusalem is one of the oldest cities in the world, continuously inhabited for more than 4,500 years. There are still discoveries about the city’s past being made in recent years. For example, on February 10, 2010, a section of an old stony street in Jerusalem was unearthed by archaeologists. It was a six-meter segment of a street, located over 4 meters below the current ground level. Supreme Master Television was present as archaeologists excavated it with excitement. They found coins, pottery, and bronze weights which were used to measure precious metals.

The main street from the Byzantine period continues to be in use till today, but in another level. Today, we are four-and-a-half meters higher than it was in the Byzantine period. That’s the only difference. And we know that each main street in Jerusalem – I’m talking about the biggest – was in use from the Roman period till today. We can see all the floors but in others levels, so it continues to be in use in the same street.

How long did it take you to do the whole project?

Three weeks.

Found the street, Yes, yes.) and the stones and everything.

The discovery provided new evidence of the city’s commercial life in Byzantine times, about 1,500 years ago. The location and direction of the ancient street also fit the ancient 6th-century mosaic map of Jerusalem which was uncovered in 1894 in a church in Madaba, Jordan.

The stones, these slabs showed us this was a huge street, a very big street. The main street, the only street, (A commercial street, businesses.) yes, in the Byzantine period. The only one which we can find in the Madaba map and even in the field.

As you can see, Madaba map, you can see that the main street, which are coming from the western wall of Jerusalem, going down through a gate and going to the market. Of course, we can see here this great church and the main street which are going down in Madaba map. And we know that we found this street in our excavation. This is the first time to find this street here.

It has been said that every shovel might unearth something ancient in Jerusalem. Thus, Jerusalem is a place where past and present, and various cultures, have intermingled for millennia. During a lecture in 1999 in the Holy Land, Supreme Master Ching Hai spoke about her appreciation of Jerusalem and its special atmosphere.

I could stay here forever. I feel so much at home. When I see the city of Jerusalem, I thought, “Oh! This is my style.” This is my kind of beauty, my kind of building, my kind of scenery. I said to my assistant, “We could buy a house there and stay there.” So beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. I feel like I have come back home or something. Yes, feel so good.

The atmosphere really is very holy.

Jerusalem is a holy city to three major religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In 1003 BC, Jerusalem was first made the capital of a kingdom by King David. His son Solomon commissioned the building of the First Temple in the city and transformed it into a prosperous capital of an empire. Since then, Jerusalem has been the holiest city in Judaism. Jerusalem was also the place where Jesus once lived and taught according to the Holy Bible. Some accounts say that Jesus was brought to this city soon after his birth. Therefore, for about 2,000 years, Christians have been drawn to the city to pay homage to the sites such as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the site of Lord Jesus’ Last Supper with his close disciples.

Another prominent site is Golgotha where the Master’s tremendous sacrifice ended. Within the city, the Christian community nowadays includes the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant and other denominations. In Islam, Jerusalem is the third holiest city after Mecca and Medina. It was to Al-Aqsa Mosque, as mentioned in Qur’an, to where Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was miraculously transported from Mecca in his Night Journey. Eventually, Prophet Muhammad ascended from Jerusalem to Heaven at the Dome of the Rock.

The Old City of Jerusalem is enclosed by walls and is about one square kilometer in size. Eight gates were built into the city’s walls, with seven open. The one called the Golden Gate is sealed. The four main gates were constructed according to the four directions of the compass and lead to the other main cities. They are: Jaffa Gate, Damascus Gate, Lion’s Gate, and Zion Gate. The line connecting Damascus Gate and Zion Gate, as well as the line from Jaffa Gate to Lion’s Gate, divide the Old City into four quarters based on the religious and cultural practices of the residents.

The Muslim quarter is the largest of the four quarters. Historically, the Muslim quarter was home to Jews as well as Christians and Muslims. Along with the Jewish quarter, the Muslim quarter borders the Noble Sanctuary (Temple Mount). During the holy month of Ramadan, the Old City of Jerusalem glows with colourful festive lights. The Christian quarter contains the Holy Sepulchre Church and part of the Via Dolorosa upon which Lord Jesus tread bearing the cross.

Both Muslims and Christians live in the Christian quarter. Armenians came to Jerusalem in the first century during the reign of the Roman emperor Titus and formed a quarter in the 14th century. It’s built around the Church of Saint James, the Convent of the Olive Tree, the Armenian Patriarch residency, and other sites.

The people living Jerusalem understand the peaceful essence of their own and others’ religions.

Allah is the Lord of the universe, the creator of all and the caller for peace and love. And the Islam religion is a tolerant religion, and the Christian religion is tolerant, all religions are tolerant. But if we do what we asked by religion's teaching the problems will disappear. The Islam religion calls for love and brotherhood among all religions.

My name, Khalid Safiti. I am Palestinian, from Jerusalem. I’ve lived here for 60 years. Yes, you are welcome.

We are from Supreme Master TV.

You are welcome. Nice to meet you in Jerusalem.

This is here Muslim, here Christian, here Jewish. "Salaam" in Arabic, "Peace" in English, "Shalom" in Hebrew. For three, for everybody on it, yes.

Yes, this, here, writing “Allah” for everybody, for all the people Christian, all Jewish, all Muslim, that’s the name of Allah. Here, another thing, the name of Muhammad.

This is for the Muslim, you see. And they have also here for the Christian. I want to show you. This one here, in Arabic. It’s a banner:

“Our father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name.”

Jerusalem has attracted pilgrims from all over the world for centuries. Till today, the city still seems to beckon many souls.

Hallo everyone. I am Father James O’Neal. I am a priest of the Diocese of St. Augustine, Florida, presently serving as a United States Army Chaplain. And I’ve come to Jerusalem with three other members of the United States Army to visit the Old City and to show them the Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites. And now in this beautiful Chapel of St. Helen in the Coptic Orthodox Church, it’s a privilege to be here.

My name is Mil Harbip. I am here for a visit to Jerusalem from Canada. I live in Toronto, Canada. I belong to the Coptic Church. Coptic Church is the oldest Christian Church in the world. It was established by Saint Mark in Egypt in the year 76. And it is orthodox because it hasn't changed one bit.

Jerusalem is metropolitan. So we have a bishop, a metropolis here, Bishop Abraham. And the church has been established here, I think from the 12th century in Jerusalem. Thank you.

Today, the development of Jerusalem has gone beyond the walls of the Old City, spreading over the area’s hills and valleys. In contrast with the Old City, several new suburbs have been built on the city’s periphery, with hotels, industrial zones, renewed neighborhoods and public parks. It has become host to international cultural festivals and scientific conventions. But no matter how it has changed, Jerusalem is still a place of devotion and prayer – prayers for peace.

I just ask everyone to pray for peace in the world. Then we have a peaceful world for everyone to live in. God bless you.

How do you like here? (Oh, I love Jerusalem.) How do you like the people?

The people are very nice. The churches are very nice. Everybody here is, is beautiful. We try to bring some peace together and live together in harmony. And this is really wonderful, very, very nice.

We hope that peace would prevail and conditions improve so that everyone can come to Jerusalem and business improves and stability prevails. So, this is what we want.

I hope that I live my life in Jerusalem, God willing. I hope that peace would prevail ...

This for everybody, for the Christian, for the Muslim, for the Jewish.

This is my wish, God willing, In the land of the Bible, the country of Christ, the country of prophets such as Muhammad, Moses and Jesus, all the prophets. And God willing, the future will be better for next generations.

Jerusalem will always be a special place for people of various cultures to remember God. Just like the rediscovery of the ancient Byzantine street, may the spiritual people of this Holy Land always renew their pride in their precious heritage, which has been graced by prophets. Thus, may all live together in peace and love.

Beautiful viewers, thank you for being with us today on Enlightening Entertainment. Coming up is Words of Wisdom, after Noteworthy News. May your life be blessed with abundant happiness.