JERUSALEM

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, though not internationally recognized as such.  Located in the Judean Mountains, between the Mediterranean Sea and the northern edge of the Dead Sea, modern Jerusalem has grown far beyond the boundaries of the Old City.

Jerusalem is a holy city to the three major Abrahamic religions— Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In Judaism, Jerusalem has been the holiest city since, according to the Biblical Old Testament, King David of Israel first established it as the capital of the United Kingdom of Israel in c. 1000 BCE, and his son Solomon commissioned the building of the First Temple in the city. In Christianity, Jerusalem has been a holy city since, according to the New Testament, Jesus was crucified in c.33 C.E., and 300 years later Saint Helena identified the pilgrimage sites of Jesus' life. In Sunni Islam, Jerusalem is the third-holiest city. It became the first Qibla, the focal point for Muslim prayer (Salah) in 610 CE, and, according to Islamic tradition, Muhammad made his Night Journey there ten years later. As a result, and despite having an area of only 0.9 square kilometres (0.35 sq mi),  the Old City is home to sites of key religious importance, among them the Temple Mount, the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque.

During its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed twice,  attacked 52 times, and captured and recaptured 44 times. The oldest part of the city was settled in the 4th millennium BCE, making Jerusalem one of the oldest cities in the world. The old walled city, a World Heritage site, has been traditionally divided into four quarters, although the names used today—the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Quarters—were introduced in the early 19th century. The Old City was nominated for inclusion on the List of World Heritage in Danger by Jordan in 1982.

Today, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the core issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, West Jerusalem was among the areas captured and later annexed by Israel, while East Jerusalem, including the Old City, was captured by Jordan. Israel captured East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently annexed it. Currently, Israel's Basic Law refers to Jerusalem as the country's "undivided capital". The international community has rejected the annexation as illegal and treats East Jerusalem as Palestinian territory held by Israel under military occupation. The international community does not recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and the city hosts no foreign embassies.

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, 208,000 Palestinians live in East Jerusalem, which is sought by the Palestinian Authority as a future capital of a future Palestinian state.

All branches of the Israeli government are located in Jerusalem, including the Knesset (Israel's parliament), the residences of the Prime Minister and President, and the Supreme Court. Jerusalem is home to the Hebrew University and to the Israel Museum with its Shrine of the Book. The Jerusalem Biblical Zoo has ranked consistently as Israel's top tourist attraction for Israelis.

TOURISM IN JERUSALEM

Jerusalem is the most-visited city with 3.5 million tourist arrivals annually. One of the oldest cities in the world, it is the capital, and largest city of Israel if the area and population of occupied East Jerusalem are included. It is a holy city to the three major Abrahamic religions-Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and hosts a myriad of historical, archaeological, religious and sundry other attractions.

East Jerusalem was captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-day War and is recognized by the international community as being under Israeli occupation. The newer western part of Jerusalem was built mainly after the creation of Israel in 1948.

Attraction in Jerusalem

               

The Israel Museum  was founded in 1965 as Israel's national museum. It is situated on a hill in the Givat Ram.  The Israel Museum  is the largest museum in Israel. The Museum contains the "shrine of the book" where the dead sea scrolls are kept. It also has a large scale model of Jerusalem in ancient times. It has large archeology and art sections that were renovationed and reopened in 2010.  

  

The Biblical Zoo is one of Israel's most popular tourist sites, in West Jerusalem. It is famous for its collection of wildlife featured in the Hebrew Bible, as well as its success in breeding endangered species. The Jerusalem Biblical Zoo opened in September 1940 as a small "animal corner". The zoo was founded by Aharon Shulov, a professor of zoology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The zoo was administered by a nonprofit corporation with representatives from Hebrew University, the Jerusalem Municipality, and the Israeli Ministries of Tourism and Education. The zoo, renamed the Tisch Family Zoological Gardens in Jerusalem, but still called the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo by the general public, opened for a preview period on 28 February 1993. It officially opened on 9 September 1993.

Old City — The atmospheric historical core of Jerusalem surrounded by Ottoman period walls, filled with sites of massive religious signficance and a bustling approach to life.  The Old City is home to several sites of key religious importance: the Temple Mount and its Western Wall for Jews, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christians, and the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque for Muslims. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site List in 1981.

 The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also called the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. The site is recognized as Golgotha  (the Hill of Calvary), where Jesus was crucified, and is said also to contain the place where Jesus was buried (the Sepulchre). The church has been a paramount – and for many Christians the most important – pilgrimage destination since at least the 4th century, as the supposed site of the rebirth of Jesus. Today it also serves as the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, while control of the building is shared between several Christian churches and secular entities in complicated arrangements essentially unchanged for centuries. Today, the church is home to Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism. Elsewhere in Jerusalem, as the true place of Jesus's crucifixion and resurrection. It is the most holy Christian spot in the world.  

 Qubbat Al-Sakhra (Dome of the Rock) The Dome of the Rock   is a shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. T he Dome of the Rock is in the centre of a greater Muslim shrine, known as the Haram ash Sharif (Noble Sanctuary), which Muslims believe commemorates Muhammad's miraculous Night Journey into heaven. The structure has been refurbished many times since its initial completion in 691 CE at the order of Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik. The site's significance stems from religious traditions regarding the rock, known as the Foundation Stone, at its heart.  It is probably the most known landmark of Jerusalem with its golden dome and octagonal blue walls that are adorned with Arabic calligraphy of Koranic verses. The interior of both the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa mosque are closed to non-Muslims, however, the plaza that they are situated in is open to the public. The Dome of the Rock is also labelled the most amazing Islamic building in the world. Entrance into the mosques on the Temple Mount is granted if a Muslim man/woman asks the guard of the mosques for entrance (they usually ask you to recite a well known Quranic verse to prove you are a Muslim).

 The Jewish Quarter  is one of the four traditional quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem. The 116,000 square meter area  lies in the southeastern sector of the walled city, and stretches from the Zion Gate in the south, along the Armenian Quarter on the west, up to the Street of the Chain in the north and extends to the Western Wall and the Temple Mount in the east.  The quarter is inhabited by around 2,000.   After being built in 1701, destroyed, rebuilt in 1864, and destroyed in 1948, the Hurva was once again rebuilt, rededicated in 2010.. It still holds many ancient masterpieces such as the Cardo (700 BC), Burnt House (70 AD), and Western Wailing Wall (50 BC). All of which are among the most holy Jewish sites in the world. Definitely worth a visit, especially the western wall. The Jewish Quarter also includes The Western Wall Tunnel and the archaeological park at Davidson Centre (the Ophel).

The City of David  is the oldest settled neighborhood of Jerusalem and a major archaeological site due to recognition as biblical Jerusalem.   It was a walled city in the Bronze Age and, according to tradition, it is the place where King David built his palace and established his capital. The City of David was naturally defended by the Tyropoeon Valley on its west, the Hinnom valley to the south, and the Kidron Valley on the east; although over time the once-steep valley to the west has been largely filled in. In the ancient pred-Israelite period, the City of David was separated from the Temple Mount by the Ophel, an uninhabited area which became the seat of government under Israelite rule .Although there is currently both Muslim and Jewish housing in the area, archeological digs are ongoing under many of the homes and it is proposed to make the entire ridge into an archaeological park.

The Western Wall, is located in the Old City of Jerusalem. Commonly believed to have been constructed around 19 BCE by Herod the Great, but recent excavations indicate that the works were not finished during Herod's lifetime. The remaining layers were added from the 7th century onwards.  It has been a site for Jewish prayer and pilgrimage for centuries; the earliest source mentioning Jewish attachment to the site dates back to the 4th century. From the mid-19th century onwards, attempts to purchase rights to the wall and its immediate area were made by various Jews, but none was successful. With the rise of the Zionist movement in the early 20th century, the wall became a source of friction between the Jewish community and the Muslim religious leadership, who were worried that the wall was being used to further Jewish nationalistic claims to the Temple Mount and Jerusalem. Outbreaks of violence at the foot of the wall became commonplace and an international commission was convened in 1930 to determine the rights and claims of Muslims and Jews in connection with the wall. After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War the wall came under Jordanian control and Jews were barred from the site for 19 years until Israel captured the Old City in 1967 and three days later bulldozed the 800 year old Moroccan Quarter for easier access to the wall.