Pilgrimsfriend
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THE VIA DOLOROSA 2The Via Dolorosa turns right from Al-Wad Street a few meters further and the Fifth Station is found on the left.
Look for a brown door marked "V St". It was here that Simon, the Cyrenian from Lybia, was forced by the Roman soldiers to to help Jesus carry the cross. From the Fifth Station the Via Dolorosa is a stepped street leading pilgrims up the hill towards Golgotha.
The Sixth Station, about sixty meters on, is designated by a column embedded into the wall on the left. Look out for a green and dark brown door, the column is set into the wall between the two doors. This station commemorates Veronica who wiped the face of Jesus with her handkerchief. The inscription means "6 St" Pious Veronica wiped the face of Christ with a cloth." The Seventh Station is at the top, at the Franciscan chapel at the junction with Khan al-Zeit Street. This marks the spot where Jesus fell for the second time. At the time there was a gate out of the city at this point. The rest of the stations are therefore outside the walls of Jerusalem of the first century. The gate was known as the Gate of Judgement because notices announcing death sentences were displayed at this gate. The Eighth Station marks the spot where Jesus consoled the lamenting women of Jerusalem.
It is marked by a round stone with a hole in the middle in the wall about fifty meters up Aqabat al-Khangah Street, on the left. It is inscribed with a cross, the initials "IC" (Latin Jesus Christ) and "XC" (Greek Jesus Christ) and the Greek "NIKA" below (meaning "victor"). It proclaims "Jesus is victorious". Pilgrims should then go back to Khan al-Zeit Street and turn right. After approximately 100 meter, turn right and go up the stairs past Mike's Centre.
At the top, next to the entrance to the Coptic Patriarchate, look out for a Roman column on the left of the doorway. This marks the Ninth Station. This spot commemorates the third time that Jesus fell on his way to the Golgotha. The Tenth to Fourteenth Stations are inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Pilgrims should go back to Khan al-Zeit Street, turn right and turn right again into Soukh al-Dabbagha Street. Walk straight into the doorway at the end of this street.
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