Jerusalem Travel Guide

Walk the narrow cobblestone streets.
Tour the tunnels by the Western Wall.
Enjoy the view of the city along the ramparts.
Visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, a monumental, ancient shrine that straddles Calvary, the hill on which Christ was crucified.

No one will ever be able to pinpoint what makes Jerusalem so special. The mountains, the wind, the extraordinary light may be part of its appeal. Three thousand years ago, King David, the warrior-psalmist of the Bible, made Jerusalem his capital. Perhaps he saw the poetry of the place as it was then. The Gihon Spring flowed through a paradise of gardens nestled at the foot of the Kidron Valley. From there a long narrow ridge rose steeply northward, filled with stone houses perched precariously on its sides. At the top of the ridge, seemingly hanging in the heavens, was the threshing floor of Araunah, which David purchased as the site of the Temple his son, Solomon, would one day build. Overlooking everything were the vast groves of the Mount of Olives, an ocean of silver leaves shimmering in the sun and wind, the source of the city's wealth; over the ridge of the Mount of Olives, the sun rose each day. From its crest, the view opened onto the desert, stretching over barren mountains and down steep wadis eastward to the Dead Sea. Into this wilderness, with great ceremony, the scapegoat was released each year, carrying with it Jerusalem's sins. Read More

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