Palestine and Jerusalem in particular, has been the focus of religious pilgrimage for thousands of years. To adherents of Judaism, Jerusalem is God's city and the revered site of His Temple. All Jewish prayers face towards Jerusalem, and to this day the city lies at the heart of Jewish religious, spiritual and scholarly life. Christians, encouraged by their Church Fathers, have undertaken the pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Holy Land since at least the 4th century AD to pay homage to the sites associated with the Life of Jesus Christ. According to the Christian tradition Jerusalem was where Jesus lived, preached and healed the sick. It was here that He held the Last Supper, was arrested, tried and crucified. To this day the Church of the Holy Sepulchre marks the area in the city where Jesus is believed to have been buried and from where He ascended to heaven.