Whether that was incidental or, as some allege, intentional on the part of the Romans to remind the Jewish people every day of their humiliation, it is hard to say. In the intervening centuries, even though Jerusalem kept changing hands, the Temple was not rebuilt for the third time.

That Western Wall of the temple in the old city of Jerusalem is now the holiest site to which the Jews have access. When they come there to offer prayers, they are said to be grieving the loss of their two temples, one after the other, hence the “Wailing Wall”. They also pray that the third Temple is built soon.

The Wall is reached through one of the six gates of the old city in east Jerusalem. The entry takes one to a spacious plaza, with the Wailing Wall on the right side of the big, enclosed space. On any given day, thousands of visitors throng the plaza, biding their time to reach the Wall. On Jewish holy days, the lines are much longer and prayers are allowed during the night too. Some place their prayers, handwritten on a small piece of paper, into a crack in the Wall and leave it there.

Along the Wall, there are partitioned enclosures separating men and women worshippers. Among the men can be seen followers of the Orthodox Jewish sects who are very distinctive in their flowing beards and formal black attire: top hat, long coat and trousers.

They strictly follow the tenets of Judaism, and read their prayers out of the sacred book, often placed on a raised desk or wooden stand in front of the Wall. And no, you don’t hear any loud wailing.

... contd.