Jerusalem – An Old City Fit For A Brave New Age
I would like to start this article with a bit of a different format than I typically do. This is a small sort of essay that I have completed about the city and my strange love for all things Jewish. From here I will proceed to the typical city guide.
Table of Contents
- My Thoughts on Jerusalem and What it Means to be Jewish
- Geography
- History of Jerusalem
- FUN FACT!
- Exploring Jerusalem
- Multiethnic Dilemmas
- Day Trips
- Conclusion
My Thoughts on Jerusalem and What it Means to be Jewish
This question is one that has intrigued me ever since I was young. You see I am only a gentile; I have no Jewish blood, yet I find myself drawn to the children of Abraham. A people of contrast, they embody both modernity and tradition while swaying between scholarship and the book. A stubborn people, they can be prone to petty superstition such as the mystical khabalism of old. All the preconceptions I had of these people was confirmed during my visit to Jerusalem. Here female military officers shared the streets with the orthodox community dressed in their modest traditional attire. This is a cosmopolitan city, with much to do on a night out, but yet on the sabbath the whole city shuts down. Having spent much of my time in the Canadian city of Montreal, I was familiar with the Jewish community. I knew what to expect but after a whirlwind tour of the middle east, the peculiarities of Jewish culture were even more jarring. Those who know me better would expect this entry to focus on a wild night of partying along with an anecdote of some seedy characters I ran into along the way, but this is not that kind of entry. You see my visit to the Jewish Capital was the culmination of a year long journey that took me from the killing fields of Eastern Europe to the promised land of Herzl, I was ready to write something in a more serious tone.
My first day in the city I visited the holocaust memorial, “Yad Vashem”. The complex is located on the western slope of Mt. Herzl, not far from the gravesite of the visionary founder of Zionism Theodore Herzl. The mountain is an open-air museum on the history of the founding and continued existence of the state of Israel. Tombs of deceased Israeli prime and arts installations give you insight on the history of the young nation. The complex itself can be access though a visitor’s office, access is free, but the audio tour will cost you. The emotional assault on your faculties begins the second you walk though the door. The building itself is a simple concrete triangle overhanging a green valley, as visitors snake their way though the complex, they progressively become more exposed to the true horrors of the holocaust, from the bloodletting and pogroms of eastern Europe to the final solution. At the end the visitor is confronted with a circular rotunda. This is the hall of names, a comprehensive – and ever expanding list of the victims. After leaving the complex, I found myself in a contemplative state. For those of you who have visited the complex of buildings near, I am sure you understand the emotional turmoil that consumes he who enters the hallowed ground. Standing amongst the hordes of teary-eyed strangers it occurred to me not to join them. As a rule of thumb I don’t cry in front of other, only alone. I fought back my teary eyes and when leaving the complex I was treated to a beautiful green Valley. The light at the end of the tunnel. Spending a few minutes basking in the sunlight, it occurred to me that this view must have been Israel for Jews escaping Europe – a promised land where one could defend himself and his brothers. Outside the complex you can find many statues including a rail car over a precipice and the monument of Righteous amongst nations, a testament to the people who helped the Jews in their time of peril.
I’ll never understand what it means to be Jewish but I do know one thing. The Shoa may be over but bearing testament to the events surrounding it, is as important now, as it ever was.
Geography
Although located nearly 65km’s inland from the metropolis of Tel Aviv and the glittering Mediterranean Sea, Jerusalem feel like it is stuck in a world of its own. Situated on the southern part of a mountainous plateau deep in the Judaean Mountains, the city is rich in interesting topographical/geological features including hills, caves, valleys and depressions. Notable features include the Mount of Olives to the city’s East and Mount Scopus to the North East. Only 35km’s from the city you will find the Dead Sea and the land beyond the West Bank, a country called Jordan, named after the East Bank of the famed Jordan River.
History of Jerusalem
I usually try to make the history sections of these posts brief but throughout its existence, Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times, captured 44 times, and attacked 52 times. There is no way to make a quick summary of a place such as this!
Prehistory, Cannanite and Egyptian Settlement (Biblical Jerusalem)
The Gihon Spring, at the south-eastern of the city has been the gathering spot of shepherds since prehistoric times. This area of the city was called the city of David when houses were constructed sometime around in 3000B.C. The was a Canaanite settlement, the precursor to the Jews, before the advent of Judaism and Yahweh. This settlement would come under the dominion of nearby Egypt during the Bronze Age. It was a vassal city state with a governor appointed by the Pharaoh.
The biblical account has Joshua invading these lands after the death of Moses and it would lie in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin or the 12 Israeli tribes but was occupied by the Jebusites who would be defeated by David. Jebus was the historic name for Canaanite Jerusalem and David would move the Jewish capital from Hebron to Jerusalem. According to the bible King David reigned for 40 year and was succeeded by his son King Solomon. It is this famous ruler who who built the First Temple on Mount Moriah, known as the repository of the Ark of the Covenant. The city was capture by the Assyrian Empire in 722 BC.
The First Temple was destroyed in 586 BC, as the King of the Babylonian Empire, Nebuchadnezzar’s conquered Judea and laid waste to Solomon’s Temple (as well as the city!). Famously many of the Jews were forced in exile to Babylon itself. Although the bible insists the Jews were gone from Isreal, completely exiled, archeological evidence shows that many were able to stay in their ancestral land.
Roman and Greek Antiquity
In 538 BC, the Jews were allowed to return from Babylon and rebuild the temple due to the clemency of Cyrus the Great, ruler of the Persian Empire and the new master of Babylon. The second temple was completed in 516BC
The Persian Empire fell to Alexander the Great and as such the city came under Macedonian control for a brief period. With the death of the conquerer the empire was spit in three pieces by his general. At first Judea belong to the Ptolemaic Egypt, but it soon fell to the rival Seleucid Empire. They would try to make Jerusalem a semi-autonomous Hellenic city state, ruled by the Hasmonean dynasty.
In 63BC the city is captured by Pompey and added to the Roman Empire. Rome put Herod in charge as a client king. This Jewish ruler known for his cruelty and might was a proponent of the city and went on a giant building streak though the city. After his death the Romans took back control of the regional government and in 66 A.D, the First Jewish–Roman War took place ending with the complete destruction of the city as well as the Second Temple. Following a second revolt the named of Judea was erased from Rome and replaced with that of the larger Syria Palaestina and the city renamed Aelia Capitolina.
Rebuilt it in the style of a typical Roman town, Jews were barred from it on on pain of death (except for one day each year). This cruel measure was extended until the 7th century A.D. It is during Roman occupation that Constantine I ordered the construction of Christian holy sites in the city such as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Constantine would begin a split of the Roman empire that would culminate with Judea ended up in the Eastern Roman Empire.
Byzantine and Early Islamic Period
The Byzantines were under heavy pressure during this time. The Persians were battering down the eastern frontiers of the empire, specifically Syria and the Jerusalem was traded between the two several times. The city was captured in 614, by Jewish Insurgents and the Persians killing thousands of Christians and destroying holy sites. It was regained by the Byzantines in 629.
Shortly after this it was conquered by the Muslim Arab armies, who allowed the Jews back into the city. After centuries of conflict both the Byzantines and the Persians were exhausted and were not able to counter the Muslim advance. During the Umayyad era, the Mosque known as the Dome of the Rock was constructed. This holy site is supposed to be where Mohamed is supposed to have ascended to heaven to talk to god. Jerusalem was captured in 1073 by the Seljuks (Turks) and then later lost in 1098 when the Fatamid Dynasty from Egypt did the same.
Crusader, Ayyubid and Mamluk Era
The Fatamids expelled the native Christians from the city and banning pilgrimage to the city triggering the First Crusade and in 1099, the city was taken by this rag tag army. As is customary in Jerusalem, the crusaders massacred the city’s inhabitants and made the capital of the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem. The city became somewhat of an international hub filled worth Christians from all over the known world including many Armenians, Copts, Hungarians, Maronites, Bulgarians, Greeks…etc.
In 1187, Jerusalem was taken by Saladin, the legendary founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. From Jerusalem, Saladin would become the master of Egypt, running the now timid Fatimid dynasty out of town. Christians were again expelled from the city with the exception of the Eastern Christian Denominations. Saladin would poor much resources into rebuilding the city but it would be on a path of decline.
The city was for a short time (1229-1244) part of Christendom again when Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II‘s Six Crusade, yielded the city. But in 1244 the city sacked by the Tatars (Mongols), who massacred the native population. The Ayyubids retook the city in 1247. From 1260 to 1517, Jerusalem was ruled by the Mamluks, the new Sultans of Egypt. During this time Jerusalem had been reduced to a pitiful village of 2000 people.
Ottoman Rule
The Ottomans took the city in 1517 and promptly rebuilt the city walls. Suleiman the Magnificent invested in the provincial town but it was a shadow of its former self. The city was briefly taken by Muhammad Ali, the Albanian sultan of Egypt. To show how backwards thing were at this time; the first paved road from Jaffa to Jerusalem was not completed until the 1850’s and railway not till by 1892.
In the late 19th century foreign missions began to be established in the city by various religious and political entities such as the Russian Compound and the German colony. Overcrowding of the old town led to the establishing of suburbs and the city began its rise into the beast we know today.
British Mandate
During the First World War, the Arabs and the British confronted the Ottoman Turks in the Middle East, the British from Egypt and the Arabs (and the famous Lawrence of Arabia) from the deserts of Arabia. General Edmund Allenby took the city during the Battle of Jerusalem and Judea would become part of the British Mandate of Palestine in 1922. During British Rule the Jewish population of the city rose to the thirds and the Muslim Arabs rioted against the Jews in acts of racial violence. The Jewish underground began to take shape, looking to produce weapons and resources for a future play at independence. These Jewish groups put heavy pressure on the British Government and the budding conflict between ethnic groups would push the British to withdraw.
Trans Jordan, the State of Israel and the Modern Era
After the Second World War, the British Mandate came to an end and the 1947 UN Partition Plan was established seeking to make Jerusalem an international city. This plan was accepted by the Jews but rejected by the Arab states, who promptly invaded the nascent state of Israel during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War (resulting from the withdrawal of the British forces in 1948). During the war Israel took the western end of the city and Jordan the eastern end of the city as well as the nearby West Bank. Most of the old town lied in Arab hands and the Jews were removed from the old town and bared from their holy sites. Christians were subject to discriminatory restrictions under Jordanian rule and many left the city.
In the lead-up to the Six-Day War, Egypt tried to starve Israel by closing the Suez Canal and massing their troops at Israel’s border. The Israeli’s responded with the first strike crushing the Egyptian Sinai. Since Jordan had a defense treaty with Egypt they jumped into the fray attacking West Jerusalem. Brutal hand to hand combat followed with fighting extending to the temple mound but it all ended with the Jewish soldiers crying at the wailing wall, a iconic coming home moment. After genocide and years of conflict the Jews had won the right to their historic capital, victorious. Arabs in Eastern Jerusalem were given the option of citizenship. Since the many changes has come to the city, many of which will be discussed in the next section.
FUN FACT!
Salem, a popular city name in America is actually short for Jeru-salem. Think of that next time you are in Salem, Massachusetts.
Exploring Jerusalem
On my arrival in the city I was surprised at how just how clean and spotless the Jerusalem was (with the exception of the Muslim quarter and some parts of east Jerusalem… please don’t be offended). By far Israel is the cleanest country I have visited in the Middle East, something readily apparent after spending some time in Egypt (which I love by the way!). Although it is quite expensive, the city is spectacular and a receptacle of thousands of years of history.
The Old Town can roughly be divided in four (4) quarters; the Jewish, Muslim, Armenia and Christian Quarters. On the outer areas you will find the old Europeans and Jewish suburbs.
This is not city of David, and although it is a historic Jewish settlement, it has greatly changed since biblical times. This is a cosmopolitan place with a wide range other ethnicity and religious backgrounds.
The Old City
The old town is surrounded by thick city walls built during the Islamic occupation of the city. The stunningly placed gates are located at strategic location around the city. In the north of the city you will find the Damascus Gate, on the traditional round to the Syrian capital, as well as the New Gate. To the east you will find the now sealed Golden Gate, the access to the temple mount (now part of the mount wall) as well as the new access to the city, the Lions Gate. To the south you have both the Dung and the Zion gate, the first being the access to the wailing wall and the the second to Mount Zion. Finally, to the west you have the Jaffa Gate, as you guessed on the road to the Mediterranean port of Jaffa.
The old town is very safe but involves traveling down winding alleys and due to the tight quarters it is hard to find landmarks. Since the city is all made of stone many of the passages seem similar making this a confusing place to explore. The biggest threat in Jerusalem seems to me that of getting lost in its labyrinth.
A Note on Jerusalem’s Cats:
Cats were imported into Jerusalem during the British Mandate to control the rat population… Unfortunately the city now has a stray cat problem!
The Jewish Quarter
Entering though the Dung gate and past the Al-Aqsa Mosque, you will whiteness the most important religious sight in Israel… the Wailing Wall! This sacred site is Western Wall of the ruined Second Temple, it is an important space for the world’s Jews. For centuries Jews would toast to “next year in Jerusalem” and home they now are.
The area in front of the wall was once the site of the Moroccan Quarter, a 700 hundred year old neighborhood/slum which was cleared (with compensation) to build a plaza for those visiting the wall.
You can get a great view of the wall from the walkway above the parking garage behind the wall!
The Jewish district is known for its yeshiva’s and synagogues. In 1948, the Jews and Arabs (the Arab League) fought bitterly over this part of the city. Unfortunately much of the quarter was destroyed and reconstructed and/or rebuilt in modernist style. After the shelling stopped the Jordanian commander had this to say.
For the first time in 1,000 years not a single Jew remains in the Jewish Quarter. Not a single building remains intact. This makes the Jews’ return here impossible.
Jordanian Commander
One of these reconstructed buildings is the Hurva Synagogue dating from the 18th century. It was the city’s main Ashkenazi (eastern and central European Jew’s) synagogue for much of its history. In front of the building you will find a giant golden menorah, a replica of the one that would have existed in the original Temple
The main attraction in the Jewish district is of course the pristine Byzantine era Cardo and its long tunnel that leads to the Temple Mount square.
At one end of the site you will find a recreation of what public life in the Cardo looked like during the Byzantine Era.
A Cardo is the name given to north-south thoroughfare of Roman and Byzantine cities. The word “Cardo” simply means heart and as such the Cardo ran through the “heart” of the city. The Cardo dates from the 130A.D reconstruction of the city by Emperor Hadrian and features a colonnaded ceremonial way. The Cardo has been exposed so that visitors to the Jewish can see the scope of the Roman works.
A Quick Note: A good point of reference when exploring the city is too look up at the towers that overhang alleyways. They will often have the symbol of the district you are in weather it be a cross, a menorah or a crescent!
The Muslim Quarter
The Muslim quarter occupies a large part of the old town. It contains the previously mentioned Damascus Gate, the most spectacular of them all and a personal favorite of mine. Navigating the Muslim quarter can be confusing. Its holiest site, the Temple Mount, has severe restrictions on access. A severely discriminatory (and quite frankly insulting) policy restricts entry to the site to non-Muslim. As a non-Muslim, you can only access the site via the Gate of the Moors and only at specific times. Once on the site, the iconic blue tiled, and golden roofed, Dome of the Rock itself is closed to people of my disposition. The building is the third holiest in Islam, dates from the Umayyad Arab caliphate and was completed in 692. Although I could speak of the history of the Islamic building at great lengths, I will refrain from doing so. I did not visit the site as I do not like being discriminated against
Pacing around the outside of the site you will get a good look at the second most important mosque in the city, Al-Aqsa.
You can get a great view of the mosque from the Davidson Center, just beside the Dung Gate. This museum is built into the site of an old Umayyad Palace and holds many items from the Second Temple and Early Islamic Periods. The mosque was originally established during the 8th century and is strongly associated with the Night Journey that Mohamed took from Mecca to Jerusalem as established in Islamic tradition. The mosque has been modified several times since its inception by all the different Muslim rulers of the the city. From some angles the dome lines up with the golden Dome of the rock behind it!
The winding alleys of the quarter are fantastically detailed and you will find many churches and mosques.
Located between the Jewish and Muslim Quarters you will find the old city Shuk. The market consists of multiple sections, the first being the “Three Markets” consisting of a Butchers’ Market; Spice Market and Goldsmiths’ Market that run above the Cardo. These streets run parallel to each other and are connected by alleys. The second is the Arab market a lively space consisting of market stalls in vaulted archway passages. You could get lost for hours in these complexes!
There are some great bakeries in the islamic sector of the city so make sure to try some sweets!
Something interesting that I learned about Muslim culture while in Jerusalem was about the right to decorate your house white with colored dots if you have visited Mecca. As I am sure you know, it is every muslims duty to make the trip to Mecca one in their lives. Due to the long wait times, salaries of the inhabitants of the city and lottery system to access mecca – it is quite an accomplishment to have completed the journey. As you can see from the above this mans door, this visit is commemorated with a poster.
The Christian Quarter
The Christian Quarter, served by the New Gate and the Jaffa gate is perhaps the most stunning of the city. At the Jaffa gate, not far from the citadel you will find much of the old town’s charming 19th architechture. One of the coolest buildings is a hotel called the New Imperial with an intresting interior couryard that you should absolutly chech out. This buidling was historically the property of the Orthodox church, one of the largest landowners in Jeruslam.
At the center of the district you will find a trio of religious buildings, the most important of winch is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The reason for the First Crusade, this ancient christian holy place – home of the True Cross, was consecrated in 335A.D, the building. The church was substantially rebuilt by the Byzantine Constantine IX Monomachos at great expense during the 11th century after the destruction of the last church by the Fatimids.
If you look at the center of the picture below you will see that the second window to the right has a wooden ladder just below it. The history of this foreign object is tied to the Status Quo – an agreement detailing how different sects will share the holy sites of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. This will be expanded upon inside the church. The above mentioned ladder amazingly dates from the 18th century, referred to as the Immovable ladder’ it has remained untouched to the the fact that no sect can move or change the buildings configurations. It is due to these types of policies that the church has remained virtually unchanged since the byzantine rebuild, a true artifact of the medieval era.
Inside the church you will find several element dedicated to the life and times of Christ. Since I don’t want to spend too much time getting into the details, I will give but a cursury look at the building. At the center is the rotunda is the Aedicule (Kouvouklion in Greek), home to the Holy Sepulcher – the “Holy of the Holy’s” – where the tomb of Jesus is located. This chapel is the play to go if you are a christian or a religious history buff like me! Above the chapel you will find the beautifully restored Dome of the Anastasis, with its single ray of light beaming down from above. Around the rotunda you will find several galleries that offer a view of the chapel from above. Unfortunately access to the m seems to be closed! From what I understand, you will find the living for the religious groups that occupy the church on the upper quarters. This practice developed the Islamic occupation, when Christians were taxed for every entry into the church. To counteract this unfair practice religious communities et up shop in the church itself, growing vegetables in the courtyard and such. The funny part of all this is that these groups are always fighting over best spots and as such need to always be guarding there hangout, least it be taken by a rival group.
An article about tee brawling monks can be found here.
In the church you will find many chapels and smaller shrines.
One of the most interesting areas of the church for me was the Chapel of St. Helena has a passage going down underground into a grotto where the Byzantines excavated the true cross (Helena being the mother of Constantine). One one of the walls you will find ancient crusader graffiti, where pilgrim inscribed crosses in the wall of the cave.
Honestly I could keep droning on, but I probably shouldn’t. Explore the building for yourself – it is chalk full of history. It actually exceeded my expectations and was authentic as you can get. In some part of the building you can even find some original wall paintings and furnishings. If anything the church is underrated and is much more impressive inside than outside.
Just outside the church you will find the Mosque of Omar (Umar). This mosque was first established in the 7th century and has an interesting history. Dedicated to the Caliph Omar (579-644). it was constructed after the Siege of Jerusalem. The Orthodox Patriarch Sophronius refused to surrender to anyone except to the Caliph Omar (579-644) himself. Omar himself traveled to Jerusalem and accepted the surrender, during which he was asked by Sophronius. Umar was flattered but refused as if he were to pray in the church, Muslims would not request conversion of the church to a mosque. He prayed outside the church, where the Mosque of Umar (Omar) stands today. The building is also very authentic and what you see today dates from 12th century during the Ayyubid period, when it was reconstructed by the Sultan, one of the sons of Saladin. The mosque is known for its distinctive mosque minaret!
One element that may seem out of the ordinary is that of a 19th century Protestant building, the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer. As mentioned previously as Europeans were able to access the holy land in the 19th and 20th centuries, they littered the city with religious structures for their own denominations. This once German church was unveiled by Kaiser Wilhelm I, to commemorate the opening of the Suez Canal and is the second protestant church in the city.
The area surrounding the churches is a giant outdoor market area teaming with pilgrims, shops and doted with small religious structures such as The Danish Church and the Church of John the Baptist. The area is crowned by intricate stone archways and square like roundabouts.
Like in the Muslim quarter you will find many vaulted passageways. Makes sure to peer down them as some have interesting nooks and crannies. For Christian pilgrims check out Via Dolorosa Street and walk the path of Jesus.
The Armenian Quarter
The smallest of Jerusalem’s quarters, the long suffering Armenian community has long called the city home. Unfortunately due to the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by the Young Turks at the end of the Ottoman Empire, there has been a great reduction in the size of this historic Middle-Eastern Community. As a long time lover of Armenian art, food and culture, I was stocked for my visit!
The quarter is home to the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, an important figure in Armenian Christianity, the patriarch is subordinate to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and not the Patriarch of Constantinople.
The St. James Cathedral located near the Zion gate is at the heart of the district and serves as the main religious congregation for the community. The 12th century church has beautiful interior reliefs. For those further interested in religious heritage, check out the Syrian Monastery Church St. Mark’s. Some believe that the church is built on the former house of Mary, mother of St. Mark the Evangelist and would have been the site of the Last Supper of Christ with his disciples.
While in the district I recommend a visit to an Armenian tavern. Have a pink and engage with the people of this ancient race of people. I am very bad at languages but I do remember one word that I learned there that day and that is how to say thank you in Armenian. The Armenians have their own alphabet and a complex language so that a simple thanks looks like this “շնորհակալություն” to pronounce it you say shnor-haka-lut’yun.
The beer and Pahklava (an armenian baklava) ain’t bad either!
The final important element is that which is located nearest to the christian Quarter, by the Jaffa Gate. This is the citadel of Jerusalem and the famous Tower of David. Fortifications have existed here since time immemorial but what you see today dates from the Mamluk era. Today the building is an important archeological site, revived as a museum by is real after the seven day war. The view of the city from the citadel are incredible and the museum particularly detailed and aims to give newcomers an idea about the evolution of the city, quite fitting considering how many changes this building has seen throughout Jerusalem’s bloody history. From the outside it looks rather diminutive but don’t be fooled the complex is massive and the size of the walls and the beauty of the interior courtyard ruins will blow you away.
Beside the citadel you will find the historic Qishle, the mane for the police station since Ottoman times.
The buildings round the tower are stunning and among the prettiest in the city.
Make sure to try Jerusalems delicious bread rings while you are at it!
Mt. Zion
Just outside the Zion Gate, you will find Mt. Zion (of course). At first the term was used for the city of David, then the temple mound and today the site just outside the Jaffa Gate. From here you will get fantastic view of the Mishkenot Sha’ananim neighborhood (see next section).,
On the hill itself you will find Dormition Abbey, a massive monastery complex built over a Byzantine Basilica. The church was constructed by the Germans after the consecration of their church in the Old Quarter. The site of the church is apparently where Mary finally passed away. It also hosts a medieval reconstruction of the Hall that the Last Supper, built where the real last supper and first church may have occurred called the Cenacle. You will also find the Tomb of Jewish Hero David. It is not believed by archeologists to be the real time but its location in a room of the old Hagia Zion byzantine church is pretty interesting on its own. Finally you could pay a visit to the Chamber of the Holocaust, Israel’s obscure first memorial to the event, constructed before Yad Vashem.
Down the road from the Zion Gate, at the feet of the Dormition Abbey you will find the Mount Zion Protestant Cemetery, a graveyard opposite to the Mount of Olives, the Jewish Burial Ground. Here you can find the grave of Nazi Germany’s most famous turncoat, Oskar Schindler. After having a change of heart he spent his ill gotten fortune on acquiring and saving Jews. Although many of his post war business ventures were a failure (possibly due to a still antisemitic German public), Schindler was offered a pension in Israel where he passed and was buried in the city. The gate to the cemetary is not always open so check before you leave the house.
Mishkenot Sha’ananim
The first Jewish neighborhood outside old Jerusalem (and one of the first overall), Mishkenot is a pleasant sight from Mount Zion. Founded by Jewish Banker Sir Moses Montefiore in 1860, it was surrounded by a wall to keep out bandits. Stuck in no man’s land after 1948, and under fire from Jordanian Arab Legionaire snipers, it became a slum. Today it is once again a trendy palace to live.
Among the historic buildings you have the Mishkenot Sha’ananim guesthouse and the iconic Montefiore Windmill!
German Colony
Located next to the Montefiore plot, the German Colony is a trendy upscale area of the city bisected by Emek Refaim Street and full of bars, cafe’s and restaurants. Much of this neighborhoods charm revolves around a 19th century train station now called “The First Station”. At the front of the neighborhood you will find Liberty Bell Park, with a replica of the Liberty Bell (see Philadelphia).
The neighborhood was founded in 1878, after two successful attempts at Jaffa and Haifa by the German Temple Society. Today it is part of the Moshava and although you will find a Templar cemetery, you will find no Germans from this Era as they were deported by British during the Second World War. The district is also home to the Natural History Museum.
The First Station is a trendy place for a drink and concert so do check it out during the course of your visit! Finally don’t miss the Menachem Begin Heritage Center, dedicated to the former prime minister of Israel. it is built beside the Cinémathèque, Israel’s film archive.
City of David, Kindron Valley and the Mount of Olives
Just south-east of the Dung Gate and Temple Mount you will have a true of attractions worthy of your attention.
City of David
The core of Bronze and Iron Age Jerusalem, this archeological site has almost been overrun by the adjacent suburb. If you wish to visit the site you will find much of interest, if anything this is one of the most underrated attractions in the city (along with the ancient Judean tombs seen in the next section). As part of the archeological dig you will see ancient bronze age water channels, a larger Iron Age water tunnel called Siloam tunnel that you can walk through, access to the famous Gihon Spring the reason for city’s existence, towers, city walls, building foundations, an ancient drainage system and the byzantine era Siloam Pool among many other things. The spring was fed to the poll via the Siloam tunnel.
Upper Kidron Valley
One of my favorite attractions, the Kindron Valley is home to ancient Judean tombs. Walking down towards it from the city of David and the Dung Gate. The valley is located between the Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives.
The named derives from Naḥal Qidron, the Qindron River. The upper part of the valley near the Temple Mount where the tombs are located is referred to as Wadi el-Joz or the ‘Valley of the Walnut’ and Wadi en-Nar,or the ‘Fire Valley’, for the rest of it. In the 19th century the segment at nearby at Mar Saba Monastery was also known as Wadi er-Rahib, or ‘Monk’s Valley.
The tombs are part of the Silwan necropolis, and are considered to be the most important cemetery remnants from the First Temple Period. The tombs were cut in the valley rock during a period of Jewish history dating from the 9th and 7th centuries BC. From their imposing stature and details they are assumed to have been used by the highest-ranking officials residing in the city.
The temple complex was again used for burials during the Second Century but by the Byzantine era is was home/shelter to hermits and monks. The tombs were mentioned by many ancient travelers, in particular Benjamin of Tudela.
There are three monumental tombs in this area; the Tomb of Absalom, the Tomb of Zechariah and the Tomb of Benei Hezir. In between the tomb of Abaslom and Zechariah you will find a Cave referred to as the Tomb of Jehoshaphat. What is cool about the tombs is that you can get up close and personal with them, giving you a chance to observe their details!
The first of these is Absalom’s ascribed to the son of King David, Absalom and was thought to date from the year 1000BC although recent work has dated it to the 1st century AD. It is though that the structure is a nefesh or burial monument and that the Cave/Tomb of Jehoshaphat was the actual burial chamber. The style of temp reminds many tourists of Petra and the stone cut tombs really do give me a similar feeling.
The colonnaded Tomb of Benei Hezir is the oldest of the burial structures. This tomb differs from the other as it is in classical styles, access from a rock stairwell and a Doric colonnaded facade. The Hellenic styled monument also has Nabataean element (Nabataean are the people of Petra). It dates from the second century B.C and was the burial site of the Benei Hezir priestly family, an important and wealthy clan.
Finally Tomb of Zechariah is a monolith. The square shaped tomb has been carved completely out of the rock. The cornice is Egyptian styled with ionic pillars holding up the pyramid roof. This displays the diversity of architectural influences on the tombs design. The tomb has been ascribed to the Jewish priest Zechariah but is most likely a nefesh for the Tomb of Benei Hezir. There is no body and the work seems to be unfinished. The tomb is estimated to be from the first century B.C but this is but an estimate.
Mount of Olives
Built on a ridge east of the old town, this cemetery is 3,000 years and holds approximately 150,000 graves. The whole hillside is littered with graves, making it look like a giant limestone rock among the green hills of the Judean countryside. The name of the hill comes from the olive groves that once covered its slopes.
Many of the tombs are damaged, smashed by Jordan’s Arab Legion after their seizure of East Jerusalem in 1948.
The site is important in the Christian tradition as well, cording to the gospel Jesus ascended to heaven from its peak. As such it is a place of worship for all christian denominations.
At the base of the hill, just north of the Jewish cemetery, you will find Gethsemane, a Franciscan shrine beside a biblical olive grove and the Tomb of the Virgin – thought to be Mary’s tomb. Up the hill you will find the Church of Mary Magdalene, a 19th century Russian Church Complex with an iconic gold dome, the Chapel of the Ascension, a pilgrimage site to Jesus’s ascension, the gothic Pater Noster church and the Dominus Flevit Church, a modern building built over a byzantine tomb complex.
At the top of the Jewish cemetery you will find a holocaust memorial and the Tomb Of The Prophets, one of the few authentic religious spots left on the hill. This cave where 50 people where burried. 3 of them were reputed to be old testament prophets (Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi).
YOu will find another church when heading back to the old town via the lions Lions’ Gate, although I don’t have a name for it. The views of the Mount of Olives are incledible from the roadway.
Jaffa Road, The Russian Compound, Bab a-Zahara and Mamilla
Located on the north side of the city, these eclectic neighborhoods are at the heart of 19th and 20th century Jerusalem.
Jaffa Road and Mamilla
The dividing live between Mamilla and the Russian Coumpound, Jaffa is Jerusalem’s most prolific thoroughfare. A historic marker on the street commemorates the road as the historic highway to Jaffa, the port city of Jerusalem in ancient times. The road was paved in 1861, quickly becoming the most dynamic area outside of the city walls, and was soon widened for carriages. The German Templers, who established the German Colony, were the first to offer a regular carriage service along the road to Jaffa.
Today the road is still an important commercial artery. Long gone are the noisy carriages, instead it has been pedestrianized and a quiet tramway mixes in with its pedestrians. The street begins just beside the New Gate where you find the “I love Jerusalem” sign, but extends as a major roadway (R60) towards the Jaffa Gate. The street contains many early institutions of Israel developed as part of the British Palestine Mandate, such as the Anglo-Palestine Bank (now called Bank Leumi).
Back at the start of the Street you will find the historic Jerusalem Municipality Building (City Hall) and the Barclays Bank brance. The town hall was built in the 1930’s, behind it you will find Safra Square. While the Town hall was financed by Barclays Bank that occupied the rotunda, the whole of the space was designed by renowned British architect Clifford Holliday, who designed many spaces in the Colonies. The Palm lined Safra Square is built on the old border line between East and West Jerusalem and represents its goal to serve all residents.
After the Second World War Jaffa Street became the city’s central business district, as many of the large commercial businesses left the old city. Unfortunately the 60’s saw many terrorist attacks at this street.
Make sure to stop at a cafe for a bagel, as I’m sure you know this Jewish invention has a long history in Central and Eastern Europe and it has continued its production in Isreal as well as other Jewish localities such as Montreal and New York that have developed their own variations and styles.
Mamilla is located on the southern side of the street and encompass the former courtyard neighbourhood of Nahalat Shiva and Mahane Yehuda, the latter known for its famous market!
At night the maze of the streets are illuminated by lights while bars and restaurants serve alcohol. Many hotels have covered patios for when the nights get cool or rainy. If you are hungry I recommend the historic Hotel Zion, with its iconic neon sigh. I was there for a non-sabbath day and for sabbat and was surprised to see how many people were out with their families enjoying the day of rest even if the commerces were closed.
I recommend trying the Regina house beer at the Zion hotel!
In the northern extend of the street you will find the Machane Yehudah Market as well as Allenby Square, after the WW1 general (now IDF square). The former is a historic building was established in the late 19th century in a parking lot. It was once open air but is now covered by a canopy. The food market is fantastic but in recent years it has also become an important night life destination and a center from street art. Since it operates at night I strongly advocate that you visit the beer bazaar (at worst visit during the day, there is a second beer bazaar in Tel Aviv).
Warning this market is also closed during Sabbath!
The Russian Compound and Bab a-Zahara
On the north-east side of the Jaffa road you will find the Russian Compound and Bab a-Zahara, an Arab neighbourhood past the 1949 armistice line delineating East Jerusalem. In the Russian compound on can expect to find beautiful European era architecture including the St. Louis French Hospital.
The district is one of the oldest outside the old town and was known for its pilgrim hostels much of wirch was completed in the second half of the 19th century. Important building include the Sergei Courtyard, a hospice and the Holy Trinity Cathedral. In the 20th century the Italian hospital was established and it looks like an Italian villa.
Make sure to visit the Museum of Underground Prisoners, commemorating the work of teh Jewish Underground during the British Mandate.
In many ways the districts haven’t changed, it is still multi-ethnic and we stayed near little Ethiopia not far from one of their churches. There are still many lower end hotels and pilgrim hostels, our host being one of them. From a commune in the Netherlands she came to the Holy Land to open up a hostel as she told us that god spoke to her and asked “for her to prepare a bed for him in the holy land”. She was a little nutty but very nice!
Bab a-Zahara is located neat the Damascus gate, in East Jerusalem, where a pretty public space exists. This neighborhood is home to the Garden Tomb/St Etienne Monastery, an ancient tomb that many protestants think is the tomb of Jesus himself, although this is disputed. It is worth checking out anyway! Further out from the neighbourhood to the north-east you will find the beautiful buildings of the American Colony and the Ammunition Hill Heritage site, a former British policemen school with trenching that saw action during the 6 days war. Other sights include Herod’s Gate, the Museum on the Seam, Zedekiah’s Cave (an ancient quarry) and the underrated Rockefeller Archaeological Museum.
To me the main reason to visit the district is the delicious food on offer in the space opposite to the Sha’ar Shkhem Square/Damascus Gate where the bus station is located.
Kiryat Ben-Gurion (Government Campus)
On A hill west of the city you will find a cluster of Govement Building that are important to Isreals democratic institution. These all offer guided tours for those interested. The first is the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, a rather ugly building. Behind it you will find the Supreme Court of Israel, a spectacular modernist 1929 building that is more interesting to me then the parliament itself. The parkland on the hill includes the beautiful Wohl Rose Garden and a bird observatory.
At the base of hill you will find the Bible Lands Museum along with a Model of Jerusalem during 2nd Temple Period. More importantly you will find the The Israel Museum and the Jerusalem Monastery of the Cross. The museum is one of the largest encyclopedic institutions in the world and a wonderful place to get lost for a day. The Eastern Orthodox monastery was built in the 11th century, in the Valley of the Cross. The monastery may be built on the burial spot of Adam’s head, where a tree grew that would be used for the cross that Christ was crucified on.
Mount Herzl
Located in the western quarter of the city, Mount Herzl is an important place to the Jewish people and those seeking to learn about them. The modern museum complex is easily accessed via the Jaffa Street tram. It is a spectacle of contemporary park design and architecture.
Who is Herzl and the Herzl Museum and the Gravesite
At the front of the complex you will find the Herzl Museum, dedicated to the life of this famous figure, central to the history of Israel. But who is Theodor Herzl? Herzl is the first Zionist, modern prophet and the spiritual creator of the state of Israel. Born in Budapest (better known as”Jewdapest” for its long history of Jewish culture), the playwright, journalist and activist encouraged Jewish immigration to Israel and worked with British authorities to promote a vision of a Jewish State. He prophetically claimed that a Jewish state would come from a calamity born upon the world’s Jews.
At the top of the hill you will find a dark grey gravestone marker. This is the grave of the nation’s most important intellectual man that never lived to see his dream realized.
Cemeteries and Outdoor Museum
Walking the Herzl grounds, you will feel like you are a giant repository of Israeli history – and that is the design of this complex. You will find many outdoor statues and signpost detailing the evolution and history of the modern Israeli state.
You will also find a Military Cemetery and other graveyards well as National Hall For Israel’s Fallen. One of the most important graves is that of Nobel prize winner and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, assassinated by a Jewish extremist.
Yad Vashem
Israel’s Holocaust museum occupies an outcropping of the hill at the western edge of the site. I thought I would cry at the wailing wall but after visiting this complex there was little tear the shed. This visit left me moved in a way that most places couldn’t even dare imagine and I would rank it as the most important place to visit in the city.
You are not supposed to take pictures of the inside and I took a few before realizing that I shouldn’t be doing so. Do google things if you want a better look at the interior. This museum can be accompanied by an audio tour (payed) or can be walked for free. The goal is to educate the public about the Holocaust, a goal that I believe it accomplishes handsomely. The museum itself is a triangular building. At the start you will be showed clips of Jewish life at the turn of the 20th century. Progressively the museums deals with the early pogroms and migrates to the more serious events predating the Holocaust before finally ripping right into the event itself. The museum acknowledges and shows stories of the people who helped Jews for unselfish reasons and the villains who made their lives unbearable. It culminates in a Rotunda called the Hall of Names showing pictures of all those who have does during the holocaust. This area holds the records of the names of all who had died during the event.
The museum terminates at an outdoor lookout over the Jerusalem Forest allowing for quiet reflection away from the cramped darkness of the museum. I enjoyed this reprieve from the darkness of the main hall.
Outside the museum you will find plenty of monument to the holocaust, the most famous of which is a railcar tethering near the edge of a cliff.
Once of the most inspiring monuments is to the defendants of the Warsaw Ghetto Monument. Poles suffered horrendously alongside the Jews and are the nation with the most people recognized in the Righteous Among Nations. The Righteous are a group of people designated at Yad Vashem for their efforts saving Jews during the Holocaust, an extremely dangerous proposition in Nazi occupied territories. Among those listed are Władysław Anders, a polish army general famous for bringing Jews directly to Israel during the War and continuing the fight against the Axis at Monte Casino in Italy and Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat that went against orders and created passports for Jews in Kaunas, in occupied Lithuania
Some of my favorite art installation in the slope of Mt. Herzl include the Valley of the Destroyed Communities, The Eternal Flame and the Tree of Life.
Multiethnic Dilemmas
First and foremost one should not guess at the ethnicity of those you are talking to, let them chart out their opinions or put feelers out. Centuries of conflict can bring out the worst in people.
More importantly, due to the complex system of restrictions, religious observances and strange abnormalities, navigating Jerusalem can be a tricky business. One example of this was that I was in Jerusalem on the Sabbath, meaning that the trendy bars and restaurants on Jaffa street were closed (unlike the bumping night before). Starving I had to satisfy my craving for food with some delicious shawarma from the Muslim area outside the city walls called Bab a-Zahara, but what to do without beer? You cant buy alcohol in the Islamic area, so walk I did to a pub in the Armenian quarter!
Be warned taking a taxi on the Sabbath is hell, Muslim taxi drivers jack up the price for a ride since the Jews are supposed to be resting. My cab to Tel Aviv Ben Guiron Airport was incredibly expensive. Cant wait for Uber to break the cabby monopoly!
Day Trips
Bethlehem and the West Bank
This town just south of Jerusalem is the easiest to get to from the Jewish capital. The birthplace of Jesus, this historic place still retains some of its charm. Bethlehem makes for an easy visit.
The rest of the West Bank can be difficult to visit due to the pour infrastructure network and check points. It would be easiest to rent a car, pay a day rate on a taxi or take a tour. Historic and scenic places such as the Mar Saba Monastery, the Bethel (baptismal site) of Jesus, Jericho, Hebron and the Qumran Caves (known for the Dead Sea Scrolls) can make for interesting day trips.
Conclusion
I ended my trip to Jerusalem at a pub in the Armenia Quarter. In 1914, the Ottoman Empire – under the rule of the Young Turks political party – began to rid its empire of the Armenian people. This was a step up from the usual pogroms instituted in time past by the Sultans, part of a genocidal policy of Pan-Turkish Anatolia and its surroundings. Jerusalem was nor lucky enough to escape this fate. Armenians were rounded up and sent to the desert death camps in the the Syrian desert and the killing field of Deir el Zor. Pictures can be found of the Armenians in train cars being led away to an uncertain fate… sound familiar? That is because the Ottomans allies, the German Empire enabled this behaviour and later Nazi Germany would model their extermination of the Jews – the Holocaust or the Shoa – on the Armenian Genocide. After my visit to Auschwitz as well as many other camps thought Poland, the Balkans and the Baltics, it had all come full circle in Jerusalem, the historic home of a once cursed and persecuted people. I felt now, as I polished off a beer, that this journey that I had completed was but the beginning of something larger; it was time for me to run down the roots of the Holocaust in Yerevan and the remnants of the Ottoman Empire. I had neglected to do so for too long!
I want to leave you the reader with a passage from the menu of the Armenian Tavern detailing the history of Armenia, and its tragic but hopeful words has stuck with me to this very day
History has been harsh to the Armenians, but it has not conquered their spirit. They have a rich tradition of art, music and dance. Their literature is varied and highly original. The golden fields, shadow-filled valley, are studded with gems of an architecture which can rival any in the world.
The Armenians have never forgotten how to sing and dance; hot to enjoy, to the full, all the pleasures that life has to offer. In Armenia, or in a home, thousands of miles from its mountains, they are devoted to the art of hospitality. They are staunch friends, loyal to their famillies, the people and to their ancient religious traditions. Throughout the world, this hard working and creative people have provided proud and loyal citizens to the country of their adoption. They have suffered enough to know the value of life and look with sympathy to the striving of other people for freedom and independence.
From the unkind cup of history they have drunk wisdom, not bitterness.
The flame of Armenian freedom may flicker, it will never be quenched.
The Armenian Tavern – Jerusalem
