Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem has rarely seen a quiet day in its 479-year history. Just past its magnificent gate towers and opposite the even grander Tower of David, the road is lined with shops serving delicious local falafel and shawarma, Christian, Jewish and Muslim memorabilia, and quaint coffee shops that welcome both tourists and locals alike, who are either prepping for the wonders of the Old City ahead, or stopping for a well-deserved, restful moment after completing their culturally-rich adventure. Nestled in the Old City’s maze is an extraordinary gem that, instead of receiving great attention from passersby, is popular amongst a more specific crowd – Christian pilgrims searching not only for churches, but for tattoos, and specifically, the almost overwhelming emotional feelings that accompany the experience. Situated on a quiet road, connecting Jaffa Gate to the rest of the Christian Quarter, is ‘Razzouk Tattoo’.
Inside works a man named Wassim Razzouk, who is the twenty-seventh generation of his family to continue an extraordinary tradition – tattooing Coptic Christian pilgrims. Today, the range of visitors is diverse. When I arrive, Wassim is getting ready to tattoo a young woman from Los Angeles, who was advised by a friend back in the United States to visit Wassim. After gazing with utter fascination through his collection of past tattoos, in the workshop that his father and grandfather had tattooed in before him, Wassim and I sit down and I begin to ask him all about his tattoo parlor’s astonishingly unique history. Wassim is already enthusiastically explaining the diversity of his visitors: “You have those pilgrims who come here for pilgrimage and then you have all the other tourists who come here as well, and they love the idea of a tattoo shop inside the Old City. All the pilgrims, typically those of Middle Eastern origin - like the Syrians, Armenians, Aramaic, Copts and Ethiopians - will not leave without getting this tattoo as a stamp that they’ve been here, like a passport of sorts. For many people, this is really part of their pilgrimage. It’s something they can take back home that will stay with them forever.”
© Andrew Wasserstein
What inspired your family to start tattooing?
My family originated from Egypt. They were Coptic Christians, and Copts have a tradition of having a tattoo of a small cross on their right wrist to identify themselves from others and to display their Christianity. Copts were being attacked inside their churches by non-Christians and that’s why it was very difficult for people to enter the church, unless they could prove their Christianity. This cross on the right wrist served as an identity pass to be allowed to enter. Someone from the church, usually a priest, would tattoo you. Sometimes, they even had it done as early as a few months old during baptism.
Indeed, this tradition of tattooing Christian Copts extends all the way back to the beginning of Islam. When Islam arrived in Egypt, whose population was mostly Copts and were among the very first nations in the world to follow and live by Christianity, the Islamic movement attempted to convert Christians, and those who refused to convert were tattooed by the state with that cross on their inner wrist. The Christians slowly adopted this tradition and started doing it themselves. My ancestor tattooed Christian tattoos, and when he came here as a pilgrim himself, he found this tradition of pilgrimage tattoos, and since this was his profession, he started doing it himself. This inspired the family business.
How long have you been tattooing visitors to Jerusalem?
For the past ten years. Before that I wasn’t interested in tattooing at all. My father was trying to tell me to start tattooing, but I never really understood the importance and significance of this history because I was busy with other things, but I was always around. I saw my grandfather tattooing and my father tattooing, but I never thought that I’d be tattooing. Then I read an article online where my father was being interviewed and he mentioned that he was sad because he thought that this tradition – our family heritage - would end with him because I didn’t want to continue it. And I thought about it. Then it clicked.
How often do pilgrims visit your parlor?
Well, it’s a very seasonal thing. Easter is the time when we have the most pilgrims visiting, and they usually come in groups when they want to be tattooed together.
Do visitors tend to have just one tattoo done, inspired by their experiences here, or do you have many visitors who keep returning for multiple tattoos?
The first pilgrimage for a typical pilgrim will normally include getting one tattoo, usually of a cross, the crucifixion, or the image of the resurrection and the date below it. This is a real certificate of their pilgrimage. If they come back another time, then they usually either get another tattoo, for example on the other arm, or they add another date to their already existing one. There are those who say ‘we’ve been dreaming about getting this tattoo. I’ve seen it on my grandfather, and on my mother or my grandmother all my life, and I want to get the same one as well.’ I even received for example, a few days ago, an email from someone in Canada, who sent me a photo of his mother’s arm with a cross on it. He was asking – because she had passed away, “Do you think this tattoo was done in your shop?” I said, “Definitely yes. I know this tattoo. The handwriting was from my grandfather.” He’s not able to come to the Holy Land to get his tattoo, but he was asking, in a way, for a blessing to confirm that it is a Razzouk Tattoo so that he can have one done in Canada. It’s a connecting tattoo. Sometimes it connects them to the history and sometimes it brings back memories because they’ve seen this tattoo on their ancestors all their life.
Which tattoo are you most proud of doing?
Actually the one I tattooed on my father, because my father was tattooed by his own father in 1948, with a cross and the date. And a couple of weeks ago, my father, who is 80 years old, decided to get a new tattoo done by me. Next year, he’s hoping to get a tattoo done by my son, so he’ll have tattoos done by his father, his son and his grandson. So, this is the one that I’m most proud of.
How has living in the Holy Land inspired your tattoo artwork?
The people who come to Jerusalem are usually very special people. They come here not only for tourism, unlike tourists who go to Ibiza and just have a few drinks. The level of faith they have is unbelievable. It’s very spiritual for a lot of people, and so it’s a very important experience. Can you imagine a 101-year-old Ethiopian woman who wants to get tattooed? For the simple reason of her faith. And it’s something that she has been dreaming of all her life. Those experiences affect you deeply. I think this is the only place in the world where this could happen.
Razzouk Tattoo, Saint George St, Jerusalem. (02-5353106/razzouktattoo.com). Open Mon-Sat 10:00-19:00.