FEAR of suicide bombers and Israel's closure of the West Bank and Gaza Strip kept many tourists and Palestinians away from the procession marking the crucifixion of Jesus on Good Friday.
The tourists on hand were hardy fatalists.
"There's more chance of catching `mad cow' disease than getting killed in Jerusalem," said Mr Wahid Ali (39), of Manchester, referring to the panic over British beef.
Tourists who thought otherwise obviously stayed at home.
"This is totally shocking," said a photo journalist who had covered the annual Christian march in the Old City of Jerusalem through years of Palestinian uprising. "Where is everybody?" he asked.
Mr Fathi Taha, a Palestinian restaurateur on the Via Dolorosa, where the Stations of the Cross mark significant points along the route to the site of the crucifixion, agreed.
"It's about a quarter of what we had last year," Mr Taha said as he watched several thousand pilgrims, scouts and clergy march by in bright sunshine. Among the crowd were several dozen men carrying a huge wooden cross.
"It's the closure," Mr Taha said. "You couldn't walk in the street last year", the owner of a barbershop, Mr Tony Bulatta, said.
Israel sealed off the West Bank and Gaza Strip on February 25th after the first in a wave of suicide bombings by Islamic militants from the areas.
In four attacks 58 people were killed in Israel in nine days. The Hamas Islamic group claimed responsibility for the attacks.
The closure has caused great economic hardship. The Israeli human rights group, B'Tselem, said it also indirectly caused the deaths of eight Arabs by delaying their receiving medical care.
It also meant that Palestinians from towns with high numbers of Christians like Ramallah and Bethlehem in the West Bank, were not on hand for Good Friday in Jerusalem, which Israel considers part of its sovereign territory.
The heads of Christian churches in the Holy Land on Tuesday called for an end to violence.
"We address our appeal to our Palestinian people, Christians and Muslims, and invite them to allow peace to be born and to cease all violence," said an Easter message signed by the heads of 11 major Christian denominations in Jerusalem.
"We address the same appeal also to the Jewish people. Palestinians are your peace partners, your brothers for building a new Israeli and Palestinian society," it said.
But faith in the historic Israel PLO interim peace accord is quickly waning.
Yesterday, once the organised processions passed, the narrow streets of the Old City were cool and empty.