The experience of visualizing Jerusalem (on being a friend or foe in the center of the world)

The article analyzes the visual representation of Jerusalem, the ways of describing this city in the texts of pilgrims. The author touches upon the issues of the complexity of the perception of the city as a whole by the creators of texts. The article also considers the issue of visual reconstruction of the city in the model and attempts to create a “wide space” that recreates not only the city of Jerusalem, but also the cities around it. Questions are raised about the tasks of such reconstruction, why participation in the fate of Jerusalem was important for believers from different walks of life. The longing for Jerusalem is seen as partly a forced reaction to “possession of the Holy”. A brief analysis of the transmission of the image of Jerusalem to Moscow, Paris, Belgrade, London, Mtskheta is presented. The motives of these actions are investigated. There is also a list of historical figures involved in the iconization of the holy city, indicating the motives for their actions.