Rising above the palms and cypresses of a walled garden in Jaffa, the bell tower of the Russian church of St Peter and St Tabitha is one of the most recognisable silhouettes on the southern skyline of Tel Aviv-Jaffa. The compound was established as part of the Russian Orthodox presence in the Holy Land, built to receive pilgrims arriving through the port of Jaffa — for centuries the main gateway for travellers heading inland to Jerusalem. Within the grounds, the church shelters the tomb venerated as that of Tabitha, the woman raised by the apostle Peter according to the Book of Acts, a tradition that has drawn pilgrims here for generations. The interior follows the Russian Orthodox idiom: icons, gilding, painted decoration, the warm dark of candle-lit worship. Outside, the gardens are a rare enclave of calm in a dense urban setting. Shot in 4K, the programme reads the site on three levels — as sacred architecture, as a chapter in the long Russian engagement with the Holy Land, and as a living pilgrimage destination whose visitors come from across the Orthodox world.
