Orthodox Christians get tattoos in J'lem
Pilgrims visiting Holy Land ink themselves with permanent reminder of devotion to their faith
Many have dropped by a centuries-old tattoo parlor in Jerusalem’s Old City to ink themselves with a permanent reminder of their devotion to their faith.
Video courtesy of jn1.tv
Countless tattoos of crosses and other religious symbols have been stamped on Orthodox Christians during their pilgrimage to Jerusalem. This ancient practice has gone on for hundreds of years by the same Jerusalem family, the Razzouks.
The buzz of an electric needle zigzagging across a pilgrim’s arm can be heard coming from the otherwise quiet family owned Razzouk parlor. Certain pilgrims, like Orthodox Christian from Ethiopia, sing songs as they get their tattoos.
The parlor family’s 72-year-old patriarch, Anton Razzouk, says the business can be traced back to a Coptic ancestor who travelled by camel and donkey from Egypt to Jerusalem 300 years ago.
After taking over the business for his father, Razzouk tattoos an average of 300 to 400 pilgrims each year, with designs spanning from different shapes, to elaborate Virgin Mary and crucifixion motifs.
Razzouk says that up until the 1950s, his father’s business had zero competition since he was the only one in the city. He says his father had given tattoos to Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie during a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, as well as hundreds of allied troops that were stationed in the area during World War II.
Judaism and Islam prohibit markings on the body, but for Orthodox Christians, tattoos are a decorative sign of faith.
