It is difficult to find a greater mixture of religious, cultural, political and ethnic characteristics and preferences than in Jerusalem in any other city on the planet. Founded six thousand years ago, it is on the list of the most sacred and significant for the representatives of the three main religions professed by earthlings. Pilgrims of Muslims, Christians and Jews rush to Jerusalem, and the rest, who set foot on the Holy Land, invariably note the special atmosphere of its tangled old streets. The historic center several decades ago was taken under the protection of UNESCO in order to preserve the unique cultural and architectural heritage. For tourists going on a tour of Israel, the question of what to see in Jerusalem does not even arise. Every temple, alley, museum and just a building is significant and important in the city. Most of them are somehow connected with the events described in the Holy Scriptures of various Christian denominations.
TOP 10 sights of Jerusalem
Way of the Cross
Via Dolorosa is one of the most important sights of the capital of Israel. The path that the condemned Savior traveled is crossed annually by millions of pilgrims. Via Dolorosa continues from the place where the Roman fortress of Anthony was located and the verdict to Jesus Christ was announced, to Golgotha, over which now stands the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. All stops have their own names and are associated with events along the way.
Along the Via Doloros there are several Christian churches that you can visit:
- St. Anne's Church was built in the XII century. Not far from her is the house where the Virgin Mary was born.
- Roman Catholic Church of the Crowned Scourge and Chapel of Condemnation.
- Ethiopian monastery.
- Lutheran Church of the Savior.
The Way of the Cross ends in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, sacred for all Christians.
Church of the Holy Sepulcher
The main shrine of this temple, which millions of pilgrims come to Jerusalem to worship, is carefully preserved by representatives of six Christian churches - Armenian, Greek Orthodox, Catholic, Coptic, Syrian and Ethiopian. Every year before Easter, the Holy Fire descends on the Holy Sepulcher, symbolizing the rebirth and purification of the world.
The temple on Calvary was founded in the first third of the 4th century, but already the first Christians revered the place of the Savior's death. The modern complex includes Golgotha and the place of the Crucifixion, the rotunda with the Kuvuklia located under it, the underground temple of the Finding of the Life-giving Cross and several more monasteries, temples and galleries. It is divided between six confessions and each of them has its own chapels and time for prayer. In order to avoid conflicts and misunderstandings, the keys to the temple from the XII century. kept in a Muslim family. The right to open and close the doors of the temple belongs to the Nusayba clan.
Wall of Tears
The greatest shrine for practicing Judaism, the Wailing Wall is another landmark in Jerusalem. Millions of believers come to the city where the Second Temple stood to look at it. Since 70 A. D. BC, when the Romans destroyed the Second Temple, the Wall remains for Jews a symbol of hope and faith and a place for prayers.
The wall has this name due to the Jewish custom to come to it and mourn the destruction of the shrine. It is located on the western slope of the Temple Mount. The 57-meter open section overlooks a square in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem. The height of this site is just under 20 m. The wall is built of 45 stone layers, 17 of which are located underground. Historians attribute the first seven layers to the Herodian period - the 1st century BC. BC.
According to tradition, the Jews put notes with secret wishes in the gaps between the stones. Tourists also use the opportunity to "ask" for the fulfillment of their cherished dreams.
El Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock
For those professing Islam, the most sacred site throughout the history of Jerusalem is the Temple Mount. It houses the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosques. The first one is well recognizable from all points of the city thanks to the huge gilded hemisphere on the roof. The second mosque, although inconspicuous in appearance, is listed in the Muslim world at the third step in the hierarchy of the sacred after the mosques of Mecca and Medina.
On the Temple Mount, the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven after prayer, and the stone on which he spoke is inside the Dome of the Rock.
Gethsemane garden
Gethsemane refers to the area located under the western slope of the Mount of Olives. Here you can see the famous sights of Jerusalem - the Tomb of the Virgin, the Church of St. Mary Magdalene and the Garden of Gethsemane.
Old olive trees grow in the Garden of Gethsemane. They are so old that they could see Jesus praying on his last night at large.
The Garden of Gethsemane is adjacent to the Church of All Nations, built at the beginning of the 20th century. designed by the Italian Antonio Barluzzi with money collected by Catholics in 12 countries of the world. In honor of this, the temple has a dozen domes. In the altar of the church there is a stone on which the Savior prayed, and outside you will see a stone with a carved image of Jesus Christ kneeling in prayer.
The basilica was built on the foundations of a medieval church, preserved from the time of the Crusaders. The interior of the temple is richly decorated with magnificent colored mosaics, through which sunlight pours into the naves.
Mount of Olives
The hill stretching against the eastern wall of the old part of Jerusalem is also called the Mount of Olives. In ancient times, it was planted with olive trees. Almost its entire slope is occupied by old Jewish cemeteries, but this mountain is also of great importance for a believing Christian. At its top is the Russian Ascension Monastery.
The cloister was founded in the vicinity of the Ascension Chapel. Tradition says that on the territory of the monastery there is a place where the Mother of God stood when Jesus read the Ascension sermon.
The construction of the monastery began in the 70s. XIX century. In 1905, the first inhabitants appeared in it. The Ascension Cathedral was built in the neo-Byzantine style. The white marble iconostasis was designed by the rector, Father Antonin. The monastery chapel already existed in the 4th century. and was built on the site of the First and Second Finding of the Head of John the Baptist. And the 64-meter bell tower is designed in the image of the Italian Campania. The largest bell on it weighs about five tons.
Tomb of the virgin
Another revered shrine of all Christians is the tomb of the Virgin Mary on the Mount of Olives. After the ascension of Jesus Christ, the Mother of God lived in hermitage and, feeling the imminent end, wished to see the apostles. They buried her in Gethsemane in a small underground cave, over which, several centuries later, a church was built.
The modern basilica appeared over the grotto in the 12th century. A staircase with 50 steps leads from the nave to the underground. The stone under which the Mother of God is buried is located to the right of the stairs in the chapel.
An exceptionally revered relic of the temple is the Jerusalem icon of the Mother of God. It is enclosed in a marble ark, and its authorship is attributed to the Evangelist Luke.
Church of St. Mary Magdalene
Compared to other architectural structures on the slope of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, this temple looks especially in Russian. The cheerful gilded onions of the domes sparkle in the hot sun among the greenery and stones.
The temple was built at the expense of the imperial family in memory of Empress Maria Alexandrovna and consecrated in 1888 in honor of Mary Magdalene. In the church you can venerate the relics of the holy martyrs Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna and nun Varvara, who were brutally murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1918.
The temple is a classic example of the Moscow style of church architecture. The iconostasis is made of white marble, the floor is colored. The icons were painted by famous artists S. S. Ivanov and V. P. Vereshchagin. The most famous image of the temple is “Mary Magdalene before the Roman emperor Tiberius”. The church also houses the miraculous icon of the Mother of God of Gethsemane Hodegetria, donated by the Metropolitan of the Lebanese Mountains, Elijah.
Yad Vashem
The National Holocaust and Heroism Memorial will be of interest to visitors of all religions and political affiliations. It was built with the aim of perpetuating the memory of the victims of Nazism - Jews killed and brutally tortured during the Second World War.
The museum complex includes several objects:
- The children's memorial is dedicated to underage prisoners of concentration camps and Jewish ghettos.
- The Hall of Remembrance houses thousands of photographs of the victims of the Holocaust.
- The Memorial to the Deported is a genuine cattle carriage. In such cars, the Nazis transported repressed Jews to concentration camps and to places of execution.
- The partisan panorama is dedicated to the history of the struggle against the fascists by the forces of local residents of the occupied territories.
Yad Vashem also includes the Holocaust Museum of Art, a library with archival materials, an educational center and several memorial sites - the Valley of Communities and the Warsaw Ghetto Square, Nadezhda, Semya and Janusz Korczak.
At the inauguration of a new architectural complex in 2005, Israeli President Moshe Katsav said the memorial was an important testament to the short distance that separates hatred from murder and racism from genocide.
Mahane Yehuda Market
One of the oldest cities in the world and in the Middle East, Jerusalem is famous for its special flavor, which can be most vividly felt in the local market. Mahane Yehuda is like a cast from public city life, in which all its advantages and characteristics are visible.
The city quarter where the market is located is unmistakable. Already on the approaches to it, the aroma of oriental spices begins to hover in the air and an even hum from the noisy exclamations of traders and buyers can be heard.
At Mahane Yehuda, you can buy groceries and textiles, souvenirs and home furnishings, bags and shoes. In the evenings, street and professional actors and musicians perform here and restaurants with national dishes open here.
