From the profane to the sacred. After Havana, the city of temptations, Cuba Libre, and rumba, journalist Airton Ortiz explores mystical Jerusalem. An emblematic metropolis, the religious center of the planet's three main monotheistic religions: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. From the gold of its domes to the ochre of its stones, from the mosques to the Holy Sepulcher, passing through the Western Wall, Airton unveils a magical, deified place. But he warns: in the Holy Land, there are also temptations. Will it be possible to resist? After traveling to the most inhospitable corners of the planet in search of material—photographic and human—for the books in the Radical Travels Collection, Airton changes his approach. From reports on India, Alaska, Tibet, Africa, Central America, and the Amazon, he turns to chronicling. But, like a good adventurer, he continues to immerse himself in the stories he describes. In Jerusalem, the second volume of the Urban Expeditions Collection—dedicated to the world's most incredible cities—it's no different. In these chronicles, Moses, Muhammad, and Jesus meet without prejudice, amidst the complex myriad of local markets and alleys. Airton brings together interesting moments he experienced during his five visits to the city. The last time he was fleeing street fighting in Cairo, when the Egyptian president was forced to resign. But as the author himself explains, these facts alone are not enough to understand it. Jerusalem cannot explain itself. It is too complex. To truly grasp it, one must also visit its neighbors. Thus, in delightful texts, half travelogue, half fable, Airton also introduces us to the biblical Hebron. And with words, he breaks down the walls of Jericho, revealing the lives of its inhabitants, both past and present. A delightful adventure that takes us to the heart of one of the most contested cities in history.
