The Church of the Sepulchre of Saint Mary - 50 fils
The Church of the Sepulchre of Saint Mary (the Tomb of the Virgin Mary) is an ancient rock-cut Christian sanctuary located in the Kidron Valley at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. According to long-standing ecclesiastical tradition and early Christian texts such as the Transitus Mariae, this site marks the burial place of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, prior to her bodily assumption into heaven. Veneration at the rock-hewn tomb dates back to the 4th and 5th centuries with the construction of early Byzantine basilicas, establishing the location as one of the earliest and most sacred pilgrimage destinations in the Holy Land.
The architectural structure depicted on the issue represents the monumental 12th-century Crusader façade leading to the subterranean crypt. Rebuilt during the Kingdom of Jerusalem—most notably through the royal patronage of Queen Melisende—the entrance features a Romanesque stone archway that opens onto a wide stone staircase descending into the subterranean rock chamber. While the upper basilica was destroyed following the Ayyubid capture of Jerusalem, the sunken crypt and entrance were preserved, serving for centuries under shared stewardship among Eastern Christian communities as a prominent holy site.
The architectural structure depicted on the issue represents the monumental 12th-century Crusader façade leading to the subterranean crypt. Rebuilt during the Kingdom of Jerusalem—most notably through the royal patronage of Queen Melisende—the entrance features a Romanesque stone archway that opens onto a wide stone staircase descending into the subterranean rock chamber. While the upper basilica was destroyed following the Ayyubid capture of Jerusalem, the sunken crypt and entrance were preserved, serving for centuries under shared stewardship among Eastern Christian communities as a prominent holy site.