The Holy Sepulchre or the sacred Tomb, is called in Arabic "al-Qiyamah" which means the Resurrection. It is no doubt the most important shrine in the Christian world. On the grounds of the Holy Sepulchre it is believed that Jesus Christ was crucified, buried and rose from the dead. Greek Orthodox, Armenians, Roman Catholics, Copts, Ethiopians and Syrian Orthodox all share rights to the church. Those rights came as the result of a status quo agreement negotiated at the time of the Ottoman Turks 200 years ago. The agreement governs time and space for the Holy Sepulchre. The different communities conduct their prayers filling the church with a continuous cycle of prayers. Today the keys to the basilica are in the hands of a prominent Palestinian Muslim family. The doors of the Holy Sepulchre open every morning at 07:00 and close at 20:00. This ceremony is performed in the presence of a Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Roman Catholic priests. Pilgrims started visitinhg the Holy Sepulchre about 2000 years ago, on the resurrection day, when Mary Magdalen and the disciples of Jesus went to the Tomb and found it empty.

Emperor Constantine built the original church in the fourth century after destroying the temple built by Herodion 132-135. Herodion built his temple in an attempt to erase any traces of Christianity and dedicated it to the gods Jupiter, Junon and Venus. But most of what we see today is the work of the Crusaders, who in 1149 built the great basilica over Calvary and the empty Tomb of Jesus. The basilica is a collection of chapels clustered around the rock of Golgotha and the tomb of Jesus.