Two Muslim families have opened the Church of the Holy Sepulchre every day for centuries, and dispute which of them came first

One iron key, about 30 cm long, opens the main door of the church where Christians locate the tomb of Jesus. A spare is broken. The Joudeh family keeps the key, and the Nuseibeh family opens and locks the door. About 4.30 each morning a Joudeh brings the key and a Nuseibeh climbs a ladder to the upper lock; at about 7.30 in the evening the routine is reversed. Each Maundy Thursday the families hand the key to the Franciscans for a procession. Custodians receive a symbolic $60. Adeeb Joudeh says his family has held the key since 1187 and shows 165 decrees sealed by 27 sultans. Wajeeh Nuseibeh says his family came from Medina, was given custody by the Caliph Omar after 637 and again by Saladin, and that the Joudehs joined only under the Ottomans, by a firman of 1612. An Armenian superior says the key was given to Muslims as a neutral party because the churches quarrelled. On 3 October 2018 the settler group Ateret Cohanim took over the Joudeh family home in the Old City. Palestine's minister for Jerusalem affairs, Adnan Husseini, said the keys should pass to another family member. Adeeb Joudeh refused. In 2026 the two families still open the church.