Site-Seeing: Colorful Crusader Churches

Seasoned visitors to Jerusalem surely know the Church of St. Anne, a pristinely preserved 12th-century Crusader church in the Romanesque style, near the beginning of the Via Dolorosa. Tradition associates the church’s grotto with the birthplace of Jesus’s mother, Mary, securing its importance for Christian pilgrims. Archaeology aficionados will value the ruins of the Pool of Bethesda, reflecting Jewish, Roman, and Byzantine history, which are located on the same compound as the church. Music enthusiasts will appreciate the structure’s unequaled acoustics: If you stand in the center of the edifice and hum softly, the sound will carry toward the entryway. […]