JERUSALEM SYNDROME

JERUSALEM SYNDROME

Fri, 12/01/2006 - 13:31

A peculiar state of body and soul threatens to overwhelm visitors to the holy city. It is easily curable, with an aeroplane ticket

western wall jerusalem.jpg
The Western Wall

Jerusalem, deemed holy by three religions, abounds in historical and mythical landmarks which can overwhelm visitors with contemplation and awe. Like other sacred places, it invokes that peculiar feeling of rubbing shoulders with Eternity.

For Jews, there are the remains of the western wall of Jerusalem's Second Temple, also known as the Wailing Wall, the only proof that the temple ever existed. For Muslims, there is the Al-Aqsa Mosque, built on the site from which Muhammad is believed to have ascended to heaven. For Christians, Jerusalem is bound up with the treasured biblical tale of Jesus Christ's last days, his passion and death on the cross, and his subsequent resurrection. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Calvary and Via Dolorosa, the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed the night before he was crucified: these places may touch the heart of even the most hardened of atheists.

But, in Jerusalem, religious exultation can turn into a medical condition, where otherwise normal, healthy people become infected with a sudden madness. Ordinary tourists, who have come on holiday from London, Louisiana, or Lvov, unexpectedly transform into street preachers, laurel-crowned lyre-plucking Romans clad only in hotel bed sheets, or pilgrims hauling heavy wooden crosses who take their 10 minutes of glory extremely seriously. The hospitals in Jerusalem receive on average 20 such cases every week, but the number soars dramatically during major Christian festivals such as Christmas and Easter.

This bizarre condition is known by psychiatrists as the Jerusalem Syndrome and was first identified in the 1930s by Dr Heinz Herman. Those afflicted believe that they are the incarnation of all sorts of biblical characters, with Jesus himself, the Virgin Mary, and Mary Magdalene topping the list hands down. Among the apostles, the most popular characters are Paul, Peter, and Matthew. John the Baptist is also something of a hit.

Via Dolorosa

Via Dolorosa

The symptoms last for about a week, or until the date of the return flight home, whichever comes first. Usually those afflicted by Jerusalem Syndrome remember nothing of the event and go back to their normal lives as dentists, lawyers, businessmen, and so on. However, the more serious cases require hospitalisation and medical treatment.

The Jerusalem police claim that those suffering from the syndrome are usually harmless, but all new cases are treated seriously, since in 1969 an Australian tourist, suddenly believing he was the Messiah, set the Al-Aqsa Mosque on fire, causing public unrest throughout the city.

Run of the mill preachers are the least disruptive, and they are easy to distinguish because they usually go around wrapped in bed sheets. They sometimes hire mules, which they ride through the gates into the Old City.

Protestants are most vulnerable to this strange disease, but there have been some reports of Catholic sufferers too. The various evangelical denominations, such as Pentecostalists, Presbyterians, Baptists, Mormons, and so on, usually reincarnate themselves as erudite preachers, while Catholics and Orthodox Christians tend to choose more mystical figures.

The Jerusalem Syndrome is not confined only to Jerusalem. To satisfy worshippers' desires to experience biblical events authentically, a tourist company in Israel has installed a wooden walkway in the Sea of Galilee two inches below the water's surface. This attraction gives any paying visitor the opportunity to literally walk on water.

A little further south, at Yardenit on the Jordan River, where Jesus was baptised, hundreds of pilgrims go into a trance every day while immersing themselves in the river. The nearby tourist centre sells baptismal certificates with a dotted line to fill in your name, and another company turns a good profit by peddling small empty plastic bottles to collect water from the river.

Jordan River

Getting baptised in the Jordan 

According to a more radical theory, Jerusalem Syndrome has existed since biblical times, but was not then scientifically recognised. This theory claims that the most famous sufferer was, in fact, Jesus Christ himself. Since medical and public perceptions of insanity were different at that time from today, the apostles believed him and became infected. This theory does not, however, explain the initial source of the illness.

A psychiatrist in Jerusalem, who asked to remain anonymous, reveals that it is not always the positive biblical characters that people impersonate. "About 10 times a year we get Judas Iscariots, although we have not yet had a case of anyone ending up like the real Judas."

One of the more peculiar cases of Jerusalem Syndrome was a Pontius Pilate. "This was a Frenchman, who was brought to the hospital by the police because he had become aggressive. He was really hysterical, but his illness consisted mainly of a psychotic condition compelling him to wash his hands every five minutes. The interesting thing was that, every time he did, the water turned red. Perhaps he used some special soap."

The saddest case, according to the same psychiatrist, was that of Joseph, the Virgin Mary's husband. "It happened about five years ago," the doctor remembers. "Joseph arrived dressed in a sack, riding a goat. He was obviously at the end of his tether and kept saying: 'And just imagine, I haven't slept with that woman at all.'"

Issue 3

Commenting on www.vagabond.bg

Vagabond Media Ltd requires you to submit a valid email to comment on www.vagabond.bg to secure that you are not a bot or a spammer. Learn more on how the company manages your personal information on our Privacy Policy. By filling the comment form you declare that you will not use www.vagabond.bg for the purpose of violating the laws of the Republic of Bulgaria. When commenting on www.vagabond.bg please observe some simple rules. You must avoid sexually explicit language and racist, vulgar, religiously intolerant or obscene comments aiming to insult Vagabond Media Ltd, other companies, countries, nationalities, confessions or authors of postings and/or other comments. Do not post spam. Write in English. Unsolicited commercial messages, obscene postings and personal attacks will be removed without notice. The comments will be moderated and may take some time to appear on www.vagabond.bg.

0 comments

Add new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.

Restricted HTML

  • Allowed HTML tags: <a href hreflang> <em> <strong> <cite> <blockquote cite> <code> <ul type> <ol start type> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <h2 id> <h3 id> <h4 id> <h5 id> <h6 id>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.

Discover More

John Lennon's Wall in Prague
VAGABOND'S INTERNATIONAL WALK OF FAME
You went to LA, okay. You think you've seen it all – and walked over it: the pinkish stars on the pavement of Hollywood Boulevard with names of actors, musicians and celebrities, many of whom long forgotten, but immortalised in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Залезът на Санторини
#VISITGREECE
Ако сте от хората, които лягат и стават с Instagram, Гърци

athos monastery
ОТКРИЙТЕ МИСТИЧНА ГЪРЦИЯ
Гърция е земя не само на приятни плажове,

Santorini sea
ДЕСЕТ ГРЪЦКИ ОСТРОВА
Може да са 1200. Може да са и 6000. Точният брой на островите в Гърция може да варира според това как броите и както смятате за остров.

Sarti Beach, Halkidiki
НАЙ-ДОБРОТО ОТ ХАЛКИДИКИ
Защо почивате на Халкидики? Всеки има своя отговор. Но когато обобщим, откриваме, че можем да подредим най-доброто от Халкидики в пет категории.

Halkidiki-AMMOYLIANI ISLAND-East-Coast copy.jpg
ТОП 10 НЕЩА, КОИТО ДА ПРАВИМ НА ХАЛКИДИКИ ПРЕЗ ЛЯТОТО
Щом сте тръгнали за Халкидики, ясно е, че основната ви цел е да се установите възможно най-близо до морето и да прекарвате основната част от времето на плажа.

tel aviv.jpg
5 MUST-VISIT PLACES IN ISRAEL
It is impossible to cover all the wonders that you will discover once you set foot in Israel, but here are five of the most astonishing ones.

Barbayanni is one of the best known brands of Lesvos ouzo
DISCOVERING OUZO
The pines cast a dappled shade on our table and the cool sea is lapping at our feet, the rumble of pebbles drowned by the ecstatic chirping of the cicadas.

table with a view_i523856186_560.jpg
ТОП 10 ХРАНИ И НАПИТКИ, КОИТО ОПРЕДЕЛЯТ ВКУСА НА ГЪРЦИЯ
За нас е станало всекидневие да използваме гръцки зехтин у дома или да си поръчваме панирани калмари в ресторанта, но истината е, че гръцката кухня е несравнимо по-вкусна, когато сме в Гърция.

open_0.jpg
ТОП 10 СКРИТИ СЪКРОВИЩА НА ГЪРЦИЯ
Всеки интелигентен човек е способен да изброи поне пет места и забележителности в Гърция със световна слава (особено, ако следва популярните инфлуенсъри в социалните мрежи). Но страната предлага много повече от Акропола, Санторини, Корфу, Делфи и Миконос.

open.jpg
10 ГРЪЦКИ ОСТРОВА, КОИТО ДА ПОСЕТИМ ПРЕЗ 2020
Гърция нямаше да бъде Гърция, ако ги нямаше островите.