JERUSALEM "Ten measures of beauty were bestowed upon the world; nine were taken by Jerusalem and one by the rest of the world." ~ Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Kiddushin 49:2
In the center of Israel, Jerusalem is The Center of the Universe… Holy to three world religions… Stay in Jerusalem long enough, and you’ll meet everyone in the world. It’s true! Sooner or later, it seems that everyone comes to Jerusalem. To experience the past, soak up the present or, for some, to wait for the future to unfold. Whether it’s a visit to G-d’s Holy Mountain (Temple Mount to Jews and Harem es-Sharif, the Holy Sanctuary, to Muslims) or the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christians; nature walks in the Jerusalem Forest or walking tours of the German Colony, Nachla’ot or Yemin Moshe; archaeological digs at Ramat Rachel or the Jerusalem Archaeological Park; book launches, lectures & concerts or shopping at Malha Mall; or even a night out at the nightclubs of the Russian Compound, Na’halat Shiva and Talpiot, Jerusalem has something for everyone. If you are visiting for the first time, backpacking through the Middle East, here for a Christian prayer conference or spending Passover with the family in the Holy City, start at Jaffa Gate with a walk on top of the Old City Walls to breathe in both the vastness and compactness of the Golden City. For the long view from the east, go to the top of the Mount of Olives and, from the south, the "Tayelet", the Haas Promenade next to Government House, the former British Mandate Headquarters, which now houses offices of the UN contingent. From there, you can also see the hillside City of David, where it all began...
The Old City is the focal point of any visit to Jerusalem, but those walls were built not so long ago – in the mid-16th century by the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Inside, you’ll explore alleyways and rooftops, visit ancient sites and meet modern people, buy traditional Armenian pottery and sleek silver Judaica, have a coffee at Henry’s Café near Jaffa Gate or a tasty lunch at the Rova’s Four Quarters’ Café with a view of the Western Wall and Mount of Olives. Walk the via Dolorosa with thousands of Christian pilgrims; shop in the Crusader’s covered Cardo; see beautiful Mamluk architecture; and taste the best hummus in town next to a “lost” synagogue in the Muslim Quarter. What you experience during your visit is your choice in this ancient modern city – the only one like it in the world – Israel's capital Jerusalem.
"Jerusalem, all of gold; Jerusalem, bronze and light. Within my heart, I shall treasure your song and sight." ~"Yerushalayim Shel Zahav" (Jerusalem of Gold) by Naomi Shemer