A view of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. One of the most ancient cities in the world, Jerusalem is packed to the brim with historic and religious landmarks that make the city so special. Some even argue that Jerusalem is the historic and religious epicenter of the world. Holy to Jews, Muslims and Christians, the three major Abrahamic religions, the city has always been a coveted prize for many ambitious rulers of various tribes and countries. This is why, in the course of its long history (founded in the 4th millennium BC by Canaanite nomadic shepherds), Jerusalem has been besieged 23 times, captured 44 times, and attacked 52 times, perhaps like no other city on the globe. This is all the more amazing when one comes to know that the walled old city (with the current walls built by Suleiman the Magnificent, sultan of the Ottoman Empire) is less than one square kilometer in area. The city belonged to, or was governed by, in succession, Egypt, ancient Israel, Babylon, Persia, Alexander the Great’s Macedonia, the Seleucids, the Romans (who destroyed the Second Temple and razed the city to the ground in 70 AD), the Byzantine Empire, the Sassanids, the Arabs, the crusaders, the mamluks, the Ottoman Turks, the British, and, finally if claimed by the modern Israel to be its capital. Many events described in the Bible and the Quran take place in Jerusalem. David, the third king of Israel and Judah (the one who gained fame by slaying Goliath) conquered the city and had his court for himself and his wives (including Bathsheba, King Solomon’s mother, originally the wife of Uriah the Hittite) move here from Hebron thus making Jerusalem the capital of the United Kingdom of Israel. He brought the Ark of the Covenant to the city making it the central point of worship in the Israelite religion. Solomon succeeded David as King of the Jews, largely admired as an ideal king, and built the First Temple. The Western Wall in the Jewish Quarter is the last remaining wall of the Jewish Temple compound, and is the holiest site in Judaism. The holiness of Jerusalem in Christianity, conserved in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, which Christians adopted as their own Old Testament, was reinforced by the New Testament account of Jesus's crucifixion and resurrection there. In Sunni Islam, Jerusalem is the third-holiest city, after Mecca and Medina. The city was the first standard direction for Muslim prayers and in Islamic tradition, Muhammad made his Night Journey there in 621, ascending to heaven where he spoke to God. As a result, the Old City is home to many sites of seminal religious importance, among them the Temple Mount with its Western Wall, Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which is shared between many Christian denominations, with hundreds of thousands of pilgrims coming to see the incredible site. Via Dolorosa is believed to be the route of the Passions of Christ as he made his way from the Pilate’s court to Golgotha. Fourteen stations of the cross attract scores of believers from all over the world. There are four quarters in the Old City: Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Armenian. Each of them contrasts with each other, yet what remains bizarrely constant is the way in which the residents of this surreal place rush about on their daily business. As one of the most sought-after places in the world, the Old City of Jerusalem is a must see for anyone visiting Israel and the Middle East [October 24, 2019].
