Old City of Jerusalem

The Old City (Arabic: البلدة القديمة, al-Balda al-Qadimah, Armenian: Հին Քաղաք, Hin K'aghak, Hebrew: העיר העתיקה, Ha'Ir Ha'Atiqah) of Jerusalem is the oldest part of the city. It is an 0.9-square-kilometre (0.35 sq mi) area that is surrounded by walls. It contains some of the most important places for three major religions. These include the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christians, the Temple Mount for Jews, and the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque for Muslims. The Old City formed the whole city of Jerusalem until 1860, when a Jewish neighborhood was built outside the Western Wall.

The Old City is historically divided into four quarters, although the current quarters were introduced only in the 19th century. Today, the Old City is divided into the Muslim Quarter, the Christian Quarter, the Jewish Quarter and the Armenian Quarter. After the war in 1948, the Old City was occupied by Jordan and the Jewish people living in the city were forced to move out. During the Six Day War in 1967, Israel occupied the Old City and the rest of East Jerusalem. Today, Israel still controls the whole area, which it says is part of its national capital.

In 1980, Jordan asked UNESCO to make the Old City a World Heritage Site. It was added to the World Heritage list in 1981. Because of the conflict over the territory, it was added to the list of sites in danger in 1982. UNESCO policy is that East Jerusalem, including the Old City, is part of the occupied Palestinian territory.

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Andrew C
29 June 2016
So much history and cool ruins when you look around or have a tour guide!!! Plus plenty of small shops with authentic Judaica & Israeli stuff
EL AL USA
20 June 2012
The Jerusalem Botanical Gardens are located in a 2,000-year-old burial cave that was found in 1902. Today, it is surrounded by plants from all over the world! An amazing site in any season.
Israel ScaVentures
12 February 2014
Did you know it is believed that the old city has been inhabited continuously for almost 5000 years?
Florian Isachsen
22 May 2019
The cleanest and most beautiful quarter in the old city.
Martin Rosen
22 December 2011
Amazing place! (a lot of tourists and beggars, though)
Anastasia Naumova
10 November 2019
Special place with history.
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