A day to explore Jerusalem

Jerusalem is a city in which majestic religious sites, beautiful cobbled streets and ancient tunnels are the norm. Prepare to be captivated by Jerusalem’s history and intrigue with this visual guide to its key sites.

Mount of Olives

A mountain ridge east of Jerusalem’s Old City, the Mount of Olives is where many tours of Jerusalem begin. This is an important site of worship for Christians, as several key events in the life of Jesus are believed to have occurred here. The Mount of Olives has also been used as a Jewish cemetery for over 3,000 years.

Garden of Gethsemane

Located at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, this garden is significant for Christians due to its role in the story of Jesus’s crucifixion – it is believed that he prayed here the night before. Moreover, the garden’s olive trees are among the oldest in the world, with some being at least 900 years old.

Temple Mount

Located in the Old City, Temple Mount is one of the world’s holiest – and most contested – sites due to its religious significance in Islam, Judaism and Christianity. It contains three great structures: the al-Aqsa Mosque, the Dome of the Rock and the Dome of the Chain, as well as four minarets.

Yad Vashem

Yad Vashem is Israel’s largest Holocaust memorial, shaped as a prism on the slopes of the Mount of Remembrance on the edge of Jerusalem. With nine galleries showing the Holocaust through photographs, films, documents, letters, works of art, and personal items found in the camps and ghettos, visiting Yad Vashem is an incredibly important and moving experience.

Tower of David

Also known as ‘Jerusalem’s Citadel’, this structure is a medieval fortress which has been developed architecturally over time. A site of tremendous archaeological significance, the Tower of David is located on the western side of the Old City, near the Jaffa Gate.

The Cardo

Roughly 1,500 years ago, this was one of Jerusalem’s busiest roads. Now, it is one of the key attractions in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City, due to its impressive columns and built-in modern shopping lane.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Located in the Christian Quarter, this ancient and labyrinthine church is built over the tomb of Jesus and is believed to be the scene of his crucifixion. For many Christians, this has been the most important pilgrimage destination since at least the 4th century. Today it also serves as the headquarters of the Greek Patriarch of Jerusalem.

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Source The culture trip