What to do and see?

Jaffa Gate

If you will be entering the Jerusalem Old City, you will most probably go through Jaffa Gate. Jaffa Gate is one of the seven main open Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem. The name Jaffa Gate is currently used for both the historical Ottoman gate from 1538, and for the wide gap in the city wall adjacent to it to the south. Many tours have the meeting point just here outside of Jaffa Gate, and it is the gate nearest to the city center of Jerusalem as well.

The Old City is just 0.9 square kilometers of walled area within the modern city of Jerusalem.  This area constituted the entire city of Jerusalem until the late 19th century. The Old City is the main tourist and historical attraction of Jerusalem due to much key religious importance. The Old City is divided into 4 uneven quarters – Muslim, Christian, Armenian and Jewish Quarter. You will see different religious monuments in each quarter, together with different distinctive shops or decorations on the street.

The Via Dolorosa is a processional route in the Old City of Jerusalem, believed to be the path that Jesus walked on the way to his crucifixion. Now, the path is packed with many small shops and monuments marking Jesus pathway. The road is stretched from Lion’s gate, passing the Muslim quarter to the Christian quarter, just under one kilometer. The route is established by tradition rather than archaeological evidence. The final stations of the crucifixion and burial are within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. You can visit it yourself or join a walking tour.

The Temple Mount, known to Muslims as the Haram esh-Sharif and the Al Aqsa Compound, is a hill located in the Old City of Jerusalem that for thousands of years has been venerated as a holy site in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam alike. The pretty golden globe is a symbol of Jerusalem and is visible from far. The Temple Mount is a holy site within the Old City for Jewish, Christian, and Muslim people. All visitors are able to tour the compound and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, with the exception of the Dome of the Rock, which you can enter only if you are Muslim. The Temple Mount is the third holiest site for Muslims after Mecca and Medina. Within the area of the Temple Mount, there are about 100 different structures to see spanning different time periods, including prayer locations, arches, and fountains. Make sure to dress modestly before you enter Temple Mount, whilst the admission is free, check the opening time before you go, as it is always close for prayer hours, as well as it is closed to visitors on Friday and Saturday. Moreover, there is only one entrance for visitors from Western Wall, so be aware of it before you go. The best time to visit the Temple of Mount is in the morning time.

The Western Wall or the so-called Wailing Wall is located just underneath the Temple Mount. It is a limestone wall, a segment of a wall that existed during the Second Temple Period. This Western Wall is the most religious site in the world for the Jewish people. Each Friday on Shabat, hundreds of people come to the wall and recite prayers or write them down on a paper and place it into the cracks of the wall. The wall is divided into two sections, for males and females. Make sure to visit the Western Wall during Shabbat, as this place turns into a religious destination for all Jewish people. Visitors can also visit the Western Wall tunnels, as archeologists have uncovered layers of the wall underground through years of excavation.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is located as a final stop on Via Dolorosa, in the Christian quarter. The church contains, according to traditions dating back to at least the fourth century, the two holiest sites in Christianity: the site where Jesus was crucified, at a place known as Calvary or Golgotha, and Jesus’s empty tomb, where he was buried and resurrected. The large complex of the church now shares part of the such for Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Armenian Apostolic, and to a lesser degree the Coptic Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox and Ethiopian Orthodox.

The City of David, is in a neighborhood of Silwan. Its a Palestinian Arab village intertwined with an Israeli settlement, and the archaeological site is speculated to constitute the original settlement core of Bronze and Iron Age Jerusalem. The City of David is highly controversial in the context of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; it is located in the area of the West Bank that was annexed to Israel following the 1967 Six-Day War and 1980 Jerusalem Law. Make sure to book a tour to visit the City of David.

The Tower of David also known as the Jerusalem Citadel, is an ancient citadel, museum and archaeological site located near the Jaffa Gate entrance to the western edge of the Old City of Jerusalem.

MahaneYehuda Market, Jerusalem’s largest market with over 250 vendors. The Machne Yehuda Market is one of the most vibrant parts of the city, offering a place to buy groceries and household items, delicious hole-in-the-wall style restaurants, and great bars for nightlife enthusiasts. Located in Jerusalem city center, it is a perfect place for dining or buying some grocery souvenir home.

The Israel Museum was established in 1965 as Israel’s foremost cultural institution and one of the world’s leading encyclopedic museums. It is situated on a hill in the Givat Ram neighborhood of Jerusalem, just opposite Bible Lands Museum.

The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet is a mountain ridge east of and adjacent to Jerusalem’s Old City. It is named for the olive groves that once covered its slopes. The southern part of the Mount was the Silwan necropolis, attributed to the ancient Judean kingdom. Book a tour to get to Mount of Olives and explore many interesting small churches and holy places, as well as the magical viewpoint of Jerusalem Old City at the background.

The Church of the Nativity, or Basilica of the Nativity, is a basilica located in Bethlehem in the West Bank, just a short drive from Jerusalem. The grotto it contains holds a prominent religious significance to Christians of various denominations as the birthplace of Jesus. The Grotto is the oldest site continuously used as a place of worship in Christianity, and the basilica is the oldest major church in the Holy Land.