 Known as the "City of Gold," Jerusalem encompasses many worlds: modern and ancient, Jewish and Arab, religious and secular. The walled Old City, with more than 4,000 years of history, contains some of the holiest places of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam -- the Temple Mount with the Dome of the Rock and the El Aksa Mosque atop it, the Western Wall, and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Outside the Old City, sites include the remarkable Israel Museum, which houses treasures including the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Bible Lands Museum, a biblical zoo, and the haunting Holocaust memorial and museum, Yad Vashem.
Jerusalem: Ancient, Modern ... Timeless
Jewish & Christian religious and historic sites in and around Jerusalem
Jerusalem - Capital of Old Testament Jewish kingdom of David and Solomon (who built the Temple) and then of Judah. Spiritual and political center of the Jewish people ever since.
- The Temple Mount, holiest site of Judaism;
- The Western Wall and Western Wall tunnels;
- The Mount of Olives, world's biggest Jewish cemetery;
- Mt. Zion, burial place of King David;
- The Great Synagogue of Jerusalem; Nachmonides (Ramban) Synagogue; Hurva Synagogue;
- The Tomb of Samuel the Prophet
- Numerous sites associated with Jesus' life; Jesus was crucified, buried and rose again here
Abu Gosh - Old Testament Kiryat Ye'arim where the ark of Covenant was kept for a while
- Crusader church
Bethlehem - Birthplace of Jesus
- Church of the nativity is the Country's oldest standing church
- Ruth married Boaz and king David was born here
El Azaria (Bethany) - The site of an ancient Jewish village, home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus (whom Jesus raised from the dead).
- Church and traditional tomb of Lazarus
Good Samaritan Inn - Identified with Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan
Hebron - Cave of Machpelah, burial site of the biblical patriarchs and matriarchs
Herodion - Massive fortress on the edge of the Judean Desert, built as a refuge by Herod the great
Jericho - Ruins of the world's oldest city;
- Ancient "Peace on Israel" Synagogue
Shekhem (Nablus) - One of the most ancient cities in the land
- Longtime capital of biblical kingdom of Israel
Solomon's pools - Huge reservoirs, part of Jerusalem's 2,000-year-old water supply system
Wadi Kelt (Nahal Prat) - The Cave of Elijah the Prophet
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