JERUSALEM: Orthodox Christians visiting the Holy Land often return home with more than just spiritual memories. Many drop by a centuries-old tattoo parlor in Jerusalem's Old City, inking themselves with a permanent reminder not only of their pilgrimage but also of devotion to their faith.

The same Jerusalem family has been tattooing pilgrims with crosses and other religious symbols for hundreds of years, testament to the importance of the ancient ritual. While Catholics can get a written certificate of their pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Orthodox Christians opt for a tattoo, a permanent reminder of their visit.

In contrast to the bustling streets of the Old City outside, the Razzouk parlour is quiet, with only the buzz of an electric needle zigzagging across a pilgrim's arm.

Pilgrims said the pain of the needle is worth the sacrifice.

"The pain I feel is like the pain that Jesus Christ felt when he was on the cross with his crown of thorns," said Etetu Legesse, a nurse from Ethiopia, as a scene depicting the crucifixion was etched on her triceps.

Another Ethiopian woman wailed a song as an image of the Virgin Mary was tattooed onto her arm.

"I'm singing, God, I'm thinking about God; he died for us on the cross, that's why I'm singing," the 35-year-old woman, who gave her name as Mebrat, said.

Anton Razzouk, the family's 72-year-old patriarch, says the business can be traced back to a Coptic ancestor who traveled by camel and donkey from Egypt to Jerusalem for a pilgrimage about 300 years ago and decided to stay.

Today, the Razzouk business is the oldest tattoo parlor in the Old City catering to Christian tourists. Razzouk says that up until the 1950's his father's business was unchallenged and that he was the only one in the Old City, though a handful of competitors have sprouted up since then.

The art form was passed on from father to son and countless pilgrims have returned home over the centuries with the markings. Razzouk said his father, Jacob, tattooed Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie during a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, as well as hundreds of allied troops stationed in the region during World War II. He said the markings remind the faithful not to sin.

"A tattoo on the hand is the best certificate of pilgrimage because it stays there forever. It stays until the person is dead. It stays with him until the grave," said Razzouk.

Whereas Judaism and Islam prohibit marking the body, for Orthodox Christian denominations like Armenians, Syrians, Ethiopians and Copts, tattoos are both decorative and a sign of faith. Roman Catholicism does not ban tattooing, but the practice is not as common.

Razzouk says he tattoos 300 to 400 pilgrims each year. His service is so popular that the family often goes to nearby hotels to tattoo travelers as well.

Designs include crosses in different shapes, as well as elaborate Virgin Mary and crucifixion motifs. Orthodox pilgrims traditionally get them done during Easter after wandering through the Old City and praying at the Holy Sepulcher Church, built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was crucified and resurrected. Tattoos cost between 20 and 100 dollars, depending on how elaborate they are.

Orthodox Christians, who follow the older Julian calendar, marked Easter at the beginning of May. Roman Catholic and Protestant denominations that observe the newer Gregorian calendar held their Easter celebrations at the end of March.

The shop is unassuming, with a simple sign reading ‘Tattoo & Change’. To supplement their income, the family runs a money-exchange business and sells a variety of religious objects and books, from crowns of thorns to rosaries, as well as crosses and tour guides.

Razzouk can rest assured that his family will carry on the tradition. He has been training his son Wassim, 40, to take over the family business. On a recent day, Wassim was busy tattooing customers. Anton's 10-year-old grandson Nizzar has also shown interest in the business.

"A lot of people, when they sit down to make the tattoo, say that they've been waiting for this all their lives," Wassim Razzouk said.

KABUL: Afghan President, Mr Hamid Karzai will seek increased military aid from India during a three-day visit starting Monday and will discuss recent cross-border clashes with Pakistan, an aide said.

“Yes, we will ask for assistance for the strengthening of our security forces,” Mr Karzai spokesman, Mr Aimal Faizi said in a briefing Saturday ahead of the trip.

Mr Karzai’s visit could irk Pakistan, especially if any arms deal materialises. Pakistan considers Afghanistan as its own backyard and suspects India of seeking greater influence there as a strategy to hem in the country from both sides.

Pakistan and India have fought three wars since they were divided into two countries when they gained independence from Britain in 1947.

Afghanistan and India signed a strategic partnership agreement in 2011 that has included Indian military training of Afghan security forces.

Mr Faizi indicated Saturday that Mr Karzai would seek to expand that cooperation. “Whatever our Afghan security forces would need for assistance and help, India would help us,” he said.

Afghan analyst, Mr Wadir Safi, a political science professor at Kabul University, says the timing of Mr Karzai’s India trip is likely related to recent border skirmishes with Pakistan.

Each side has been accusing the other of firing across the mountainous border region for months, including a skirmish earlier this month that killed an Afghan border policeman.

Both countries have also accused each other of providing shelter for insurgents fighting on the other side of the border. Afghan accusations that Pakistan is allegedly trying to torpedo efforts to start peace talks with the Taliban have also contributed to deteriorating relations. 

Pakistan is considered crucial to nudging Taliban leaders, many of which are in hiding in Pakistan, to the table a key goal of the US and its allies ahead of the final pullout of foreign combat forces by the end of next year.

Mr Karzai has long been deeply suspicious of the motives of Pakistan’s government and military, which backed the Taliban regime before it was toppled in the 2001 US-led intervention and has since seemed unable or unwilling to go after militant leaders taking refuge inside its borders.

The killing of al-Qaida chief, Osama bin Laden, in Pakistan only strengthened Afghan wariness of his neighbour.

“Maybe at this moment, Karzai wants to show to the neighbor (Pakistan) that if they don’t take part in bringing peace in Afghanistan, then he can increase relations with other countries with whom Pakistan has longtime disagreements,” Mr Safi said.

Mr afi warned, however, that any increased military cooperation with India would likely only contribute to tensions. “Of course, it will anger Pakistan,” he said.

Aside from regional strategic rivalries, Mr Karzai is expected to discuss economic issues and will visit an engineering university where he will receive an honorary degree, Mr Faizi said.

India has invested more than $2 billion in Afghan infrastructure, including highways and hospitals and rural electricity projects.

New Delhi is hoping to gain some influence in the country after 2014, when Afghan forces become responsible for the entire country’s security.

Mr Karzai, who earned his college degree in India, has visited New Delhi more than a half dozen times in the past few years, most recently in November 2012. 

UNITED NATIONS: India abstained from voting on the Arab-backed, US supported resolution on Syria in the UN General Assembly, which called for a political transition.

VIENNA/ISTANBUL: The United Nations' nuclear agency failed to persuade Iran on Wednesday to let it resume an investigation into suspected atomic bomb research, leaving the high-stakes diplomacy in deadlock.

DHAKA: The cyclonic storm ‘Mahasen’ on Thursday hit Bangladesh’s southern Patuakhali coast with wind speed up to 90 kilometers per hour, killing one person, officials said.

ISLAMABAD: Six suspects, including two women, were arrested today during an operation to trace the kidnapped son of the former premier, Mr Yousuf Raza Gilani in Pakistan’s restive northwest, officials said.

KIRUNA, SWEDEN: China, together with five other states, has been granted observer status in the Arctic Council on Wednesday.

MYANMAR: A boat carrying about 100 Rohingya Muslims capsized off western Myanmar with many feared drowned at the start of a mass evacuation from low-lying regions ahead of an approaching storm, a UN official said on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON: US police are looking for a 19-year-old man identified as a suspect in the Mother's Day parade shooting in New Orleans, the largest city in Indian-American Governor Bobby Jindal's state of Louisiana, that injured 19 people.

ISLAMABAD: Ms Sherry Rehman has quit as Pakistan's ambassador to the US, it was reported here Tuesday.