Jerusalem - Travel Information

Jerusalem, the capital of the state of Israel, is a holy place for the three monotheistic religions, or in other words, is sacred for a third of the world's population. In Jerusalem you can find The Wailing Wall which is sacred to Jews since the days of the Temple, to which every Jew turns to pray every day. On the other side, you can see the Temple Mount, with the two sacred Muslim buildings ? the El Aktza mosque and the Dome of the Rock, from where the prophet Muhammad ascended to the heavens to meet the prophets that came before him and God, which make Jerusalem the third most sacred place in the world for Muslims after Mecca and Medina. Down the road, in a walking distance, you can see the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of the holiest places in the world for Christians, who come here for 2000 years to visit the place where Jesus of Nazareth died, was buried, and rose back. A famous map from the renaissance time shows Europe, Asia and Africa as petals in a flower, and in the center is Jerusalem.

You can say "unique" about many cities in the world, but Jerusalem is definitely one of the cities you can say that about without hesitation. 5,000 years of history made Jerusalem special for so many reasons, the there aren?t mane cities that can compete.

The main focus for a visit of Jerusalem is a tour of the four quarters Jerusalem's Old City (the Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Armenian quarters), and the Jerusalem Walls. The area of the old city of Jerusalem is only 1 square kilometer, but it is filled with holy sites, aromatic markets, synagogues, churches, and mosques.

Outside the Old City Walls, Jerusalem is a modern metropolitan, which is home for over 700,000 people, but still Jerusalem keeps its special spirit, and all new buildings in the city must be built when their front is covered in the golden Jerusalem stone.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the holiest Christian site in Jerusalem and Israel. The Church contains the Chapel of Golgotha and three Stations of the Cross, as well as the place of Jesus Christ's burial and resurrection.

Mount of Olives

Mount of Olives is located on the east of Jerusalem, Israel. The mountain is named after the olive trees that used to cover its slopes. Mount Olives is holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims, and many religious traditions are tied to it.

The Wailing Wall

Jews around the world turn their eyes to the Western Wall, also know as the Wailing Wall, which is the closest location to the place where the temple used to stand where Jews can pray. The wall we know today was a part of the temple's western wall, hence its name. Believers leave notes in the cracks between the wall's stones.

Jerusalem Walls

No Tour in Israel is complete without a visit to Jerusalem's Walls. The walls you can see today around Jerusalem's old city were built by the Turkish sultan Suleiman the "Magnificent" during the years 1536-1541. The length of the wall is around 3.8 km.

Mount Zion

Mount Zion is on the southern part of Jerusalem's Old city. The mountain was not included in the area surrounded by Jerusalem's Walls, but is an integral part of the old city.

Temple Mount

Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Israel, also known as Mount Moriah, is where the first temple was built by King Solomon, and is where the second temple was built by King Herod, which gave the compound its current structure. Since the seventh century there are two main Muslim structures on the mountain ? the El Aktzah mosque and the Dome of the Rock. The Temple Mount is the holiest place for Jews, and is the third holiest place for Muslims (after Mecca and Medina.

Ein Kerem

Ein Kerem is a picturesque village on the south western outskirts of Jerusalem. This small village (which is today a neighborhood within Jerusalem) has great significance in Christian traditions, since this is where according to the tradition John the Baptist was born.