Jerusalem: The Old City and What to Do When You Leave It

Jerusalem is one of the most visited, most contested, and most complicated cities on earth. Around 3.5 million tourists visit annually. The Old City - 0.9 square kilometres enclosed by Ottoman walls built by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1538 - contains sacred sites central to three religions: the Western Wall (Judaism), the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Christianity), and the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount (Islam). You will have your own views on the political situation; what follows is information about the physical experience of being in the city.

The Old City: Four Quarters

The Old City is divided informally into four quarters, though the division is historical rather than strictly bounded.

The Jewish Quarter was destroyed in 1948 and rebuilt after 1967; it is the most recent construction in the Old City despite being on one of its most ancient sites. The Cardo - the main north-south street of the Roman city - has been partially excavated and is visible below current ground level. The Hurva Synagogue, rebuilt in its current form in 2010, dominates the quarter’s skyline with its dome.

The Muslim Quarter is the largest and most densely inhabited, running from the Damascus Gate in the north wall south toward the Temple Mount. The main thoroughfare, Al-Wad Street (Ha-Gai in Hebrew), is the most commercially active street in the Old City - spice sellers, falafel shops, clothing stalls - and runs from the Damascus Gate through to the Temple Mount. This is where the Via Dolorosa begins; the Stations of the Cross follow a route through these streets to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The Christian Quarter centres on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which marks - according to fourth-century tradition traced to Helena, mother of Constantine - the site of the Crucifixion, burial, and Resurrection of Jesus. The church is administered jointly by six Christian denominations (Greek Orthodox, Latin Catholic, Armenian Apostolic, Coptic, Ethiopian, and Syriac Orthodox) under an arrangement that has produced disputes over rights to different areas down to which denomination controls which steps. The church is free to enter; go early in the morning before the tour groups arrive.

The Armenian Quarter in the southwest is the smallest and least visited. The Armenian community in Jerusalem dates to the 4th century; the St. James Cathedral (open for services 15:00-15:30 daily) has 14th-century tilework and is rarely crowded.

The Temple Mount and Western Wall

The Temple Mount (Haram al-Sharif in Arabic) is where the First and Second Jewish Temples stood. The Second Temple was destroyed by Rome in 70 CE; the Western Wall is the surviving retaining wall of the Second Temple platform. The Temple Mount above is now occupied by the Dome of the Rock (691 CE) and Al-Aqsa Mosque (705 CE, rebuilt multiple times).

Non-Muslim visitors can enter the Temple Mount through the Mughrabi Gate (at the southern end of the Western Wall plaza) during limited hours: Sunday-Thursday 07:30-11:30 and 13:30-14:30. Visitors must dress modestly (shoulders and knees covered; robes available at the gate). The Dome of the Rock interior is closed to non-Muslims; you can see the exterior and the esplanade. Go in the morning.

The Western Wall plaza is open 24 hours, free of charge. Men and women enter through separate sides. Small pieces of paper with written prayers placed in the wall’s cracks are collected twice a year and buried on the Mount of Olives.

Beyond the Old City

The Mount of Olives is directly east of the Old City, separated by the Kidron Valley. From the viewpoint at the top - reachable by bus or taxi, or a 30-minute walk from the Lion’s Gate - you get the most reproduced view of the Old City with the Dome of the Rock and the cemetery on the slope below. The cemetery on the Mount of Olives is one of the oldest continuously used Jewish burial sites in the world; certain graves here date from the First Temple period.

The Israel Museum (admission NIS 64 adults, approximately $17 USD) is 3 kilometres west of the Old City. The Shrine of the Book holds the Dead Sea Scrolls - the earliest known manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible, found in 1947 in caves near Qumran. The building’s distinctive white dome shape references the lid of the jar in which Scroll 1 was found. The outdoor scale model of Second Temple-period Jerusalem - covering nearly 1,000 square metres - gives the best spatial understanding of the ancient city layout available anywhere. Allow 3-4 hours for the full museum.

Yad Vashem (free admission, timed entry booking required; reservations at yadvashem.org) is the Holocaust memorial and museum at the western edge of Jerusalem. The museum building is a prism cutting through the hillside; the main exhibition runs chronologically through the Nazi period to the post-war displaced persons situation and the establishment of Israel. The Children’s Memorial - a dark chamber with candles reflected in mirrors and a continuous audio recording of children’s names - is the most affecting element. Allow 3 hours minimum.

Mahane Yehuda Market (the “shuk”) is the main covered and open-air market, 1.5 kilometres west of the Old City on Jaffa Street. It operates as a working produce market from early morning until mid-afternoon (busiest Thursday-Friday for Shabbat shopping) and transforms into a bar and restaurant district on Thursday and Friday evenings after the market stalls close. Come twice: once for the daytime market to eat hummus at Abu Shukri (NIS 40-55 per plate) or grab sfenj (fried doughnuts) from one of the stalls, and once in the evening for wine or beer in the market’s restaurants.

Where to Eat

Machneyuda (Beit Ya’akov Street, near the shuk, reservations essential, dinner NIS 250-350 per person) is the restaurant most associated with Jerusalem’s food reputation - the kitchen is open to the dining room, the menu changes constantly, and the cooking draws from the full range of Israeli and Middle Eastern ingredients. Noisy and energetic; not for a quiet dinner.

Mona in the German Colony is the quieter option for serious cooking - a converted Ottoman building, modern Israeli menu, outdoor courtyard. Dinner around NIS 200-280.

For simpler eating: the Old City has falafel and shawarma on every corner; quality varies sharply. Abu Shukri in the Muslim Quarter (Al-Wad Street near the 5th Station of the Cross) is frequently cited as the best hummus in Jerusalem. The line at lunch is real; go by 12:30. Full plate of hummus, ful (fava beans), and pita costs NIS 40-55.

Where to Stay

The King David Hotel (King David Street, from $400-700 per night) has operated since 1931 and has hosted virtually every significant figure who has come to Jerusalem - the guest books are a political history of the 20th century. The views from the west-facing rooms over the Old City walls are unobstructed. The outdoor pool and garden are the best hotel grounds in the city.

The American Colony Hotel in East Jerusalem (from $280-450) is the more neutral ground: built in a 19th-century Ottoman palace, associated historically with diplomats and journalists rather than political figures. The courtyard and garden are where Jerusalem’s international press corps has always gathered.

Mid-range: Hotel Hashimi inside the Old City’s Muslim Quarter (from $80-130) puts you inside the walls, 5 minutes from the Western Wall. Rooms are modest; the value is the location.

Getting Around

Jerusalem’s light rail (Tram 1) runs from the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus in the east through the city centre to Hadassah hospital in the southwest. A single fare is NIS 5.90. The Old City itself has no vehicle access; you walk. Taxis are metered; from the train station to the Old City is NIS 40-60.

From Tel Aviv: Train from Ben Gurion Airport or Tel Aviv Savidor Central to Jerusalem Yitzhak Navon station takes 35 minutes (NIS 31). Buses (Egged lines) from the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station take 60-90 minutes depending on traffic; NIS 19. Most international visitors fly into Tel Aviv rather than the smaller Jerusalem airport.