The church’s entrance faces the slab on which Jesus was supposedly anointed before he was buried. To continue along the stations, go up the stairs to die right just after you enter. The chapel at the top is divided into two naves: the right one belongs to the Franciscans, the left to the Greek Orthodox. At the entrance to the Franciscan Chapel is the tenth station, where Jesus was stripped of his clothes, and at the far end is the eleventh, where he was nailed to die cross. The twelfth station, to the left in the Greek chapel, is the unmistakable site of the Crucifixion: a life-size Jesus, ciad in a metal loincloth, hangs among oil lamps, flowers, and enormous candles. Between the eleventh and twelfth stations is the thirteenth, where Mary received Jesus’ body. The thirteenth station is marked by a statue of Mary, adorned with jewels, with a silver dagger stuck into her breast,Jesus’ tomb on the ground floor is the fourteenth (final) station. The Holy Sepulchre, in the center of the rotunda, is a large marble structure flanked by huge candles.

The first chamber in the tomb, the Chapel of the Angel, is named after the angel who announced Jesus’ resurrection to Mary Magdalene. A tiny entrance leads from the chapel into the sepulchre itself, an equally tiny chamber lit by scores of candles and guarded by priests. The walls of the tomb have been covered, but the priest in charge will show you a small section of the original wall hidden behind a picture of the Virgin Mary. The raised marble slab in the sepulchre covers the rock on which Jesus’ body was laid. Nudging the back of the Holy Sepulchre is the tiny Coptic Chapel, in which a priest will invite you to kiss the wall of the tomb. To the right of the Sepulchre, the Chapel of Mary Magdalene recalls the place where Jesus appeared to her after his resurrection.

The rest of the church is a dark labyrinth of small chapels, through which priests, Pugrims, and chatty tourists wander. Because a denomination’s ability to hang any on the church’s walls also indicates possession, the building houses only reli-&°us paintings and spindly oil lamps. Near the eastern end, steps lead down to two avemous chapels commemorating the discovery of the true cross. In a small the ground floor just below Calvary, a fissure runs through the rock, sup-Posecily caused by the earthquake following Jesus” death. According to legend,ani(Of Adam and Eve fame) was buried beneath Calvary, allowing Jesus’ blood to Pthrough this cleft and anoint him. (Church is open daily 5am-8pm; winter 4am-ent about modest dress. The first shop outside the eastern ^ice to the courtyard rents skirts for NISI.50; look for the Kodak sign.)