The Christian Pilgrim of Bordeaux Observes Jews and Tisha B’av (Ninth of Av)
Making a pilgrimage from Bordeaux to Jerusalem in 333 CE, an anonymous Christian pilgrim carefully stipulated the itinerary of his journey. He observed the Jews in Jerusalem during Tisha b'Av, writing:
“There are two statues of Hadrian, and not far from the statues there is a perforated stone, to which the Jews come every year and anoint it, bewail themselves with groans, rend their garments, and so depart.”
An image from the Bordeaux Itinerary
Cnfy1cnfy1, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Overview
“There are two statues of Hadrian, and not far from the statues there is a perforated stone, to which the Jews come every year (i.e. Tisha B’av) and anoint it, bewail themselves with groans, rend their garments, and so depart.”
The Bordeaux Pilgrim, The Itinerary from Bordeaux to Jerusalem, trans. Aubrey Stewart (London: Palestine Pilgrims’ Text Society, 1887).
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