How old is jerusalem city

After Israel claimed sovereignty over East Jerusalem in , it demolished the Arab houses, creating the plaza. Israel erected the wooden structure after an earthen ramp collapsed in , following an earthquake and heavy snowfall. But members of both the Jewish and Muslim communities opposed the plan. And the Israeli activist group Peace Now warned the project might alarm Muslims since the new route and size of the bridge three times the original ramp would increase non-Muslim traffic to the Mount.

Indeed, when Israel began a legally required archaeological survey of the planned construction site, Palestinians and Arab Israelis joined in a chorus of protest. They claimed the Israeli excavations—although conducted several yards outside the walls of the sacred compound—threatened the foundations of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. For the time being, non-Muslim visitors continue to use the temporary wooden bridge that has been in place for seven years. Such disputes inevitably send ripples throughout the international community.

And in November , the Palestinian Authority created a diplomatic kerfuffle when it published a study declaring the Western Wall was not a Jewish holy site at all, but part of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Today, the scene is calm. At various spots on the wide, leafy plaza Palestinian men gather in study groups, reading the Koran.

We ascend steps toward the magnificent Dome of the Rock—which was built during the same period as the Al-Aqsa Mosque to the south, between A. Its provenance remains a subject of debate among historians, pitting the majority, who claim early Muslims built it, against those who insist it is a Byzantine Christian structure. But other historians counter that the eastern entrance to the Mount, where the Golden Gate was built, was important to the Byzantines because their interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew holds that Jesus entered the Temple Mount from the Mount of Olives to the east when he joined his disciples for the Passover meal.

And in A. Fifteen years later, after defeating the Persians, Heraclius, a Byzantine emperor, is said to have brought the True Cross back to the holy city—passing from the Mount of Olives to the Temple Mount, and then to the Holy Sepulchre. In addition, Barkay has found archival photographs taken during renovations of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the late s that appear to reveal Byzantine mosaics beneath the structure—further evidence that some sort of public building had been constructed at the site.

After the war his father—who had spent a year in a Nazi forced labor camp in Ukraine—established the first Israeli delegation in Budapest, and the family emigrated to Israel in Barkay earned his doctorate in archaeology at Tel Aviv University. In , exploring a series of ancient burial caves in an area of Jerusalem above the Valley of Hinnom, he made a remarkable discovery: two 2,year-old silver scrolls delicately etched with the priestly blessing that Aaron and his sons bestowed on the children of Israel, as mentioned in the Book of Numbers.

Barkay and I get into my car and drive toward Mount Scopus. He shrugs. You can do it to the right, to the left, on the face of an Arab or a Jew. Still, some criticism of Barkay stems not from politics but from skepticism about his methodology. Natsheh is not the only archaeologist to raise questions about the value of artifacts not found in situ. The dirt excavated by the Waqf is landfill from previous eras.

Collectively, he says, the landfill includes artifacts from all periods of the site. Observing the tourists brushing alongside daily prayers here is an interesting site.

Anybody can go up to the wall, although men and women have separate areas. Men should cover their heads there are paper kippahs available , and women should wear modest clothing. It is customary to place a small prayer on a piece of paper within a crack on the wall. Amazingly, the vast Western Wall represents just a tiny percentage of this elevation of the Temple.

The Western Wall Tunnels, accessed via the plaza, allow visitors to see even more of the wall underground. The Muslim Quarter is a huge contrast to the Jewish Quarter. Its streets are busier and more crowded, with vendors — especially within the famous Shuk — selling all varieties of products. In contrast to the other quarters where shops are generally selling religious or tourist-appealing products, here the Shuk is literally an ancient shopping mall in the 21st century where one can practice their bartering skills and buy almost anything imaginable.

In B. His son, Solomon, built the first holy Temple about 40 years later. The Babylonians occupied Jerusalem in B. Alexander the Great took control of Jerusalem in B. Over the next several hundred years, the city was conquered and ruled by different groups, including the Romans , Persians , Arabs, Fatimids, Seljuk Turks, Crusaders , Egyptians , Mamelukes and Islamists. Some key events with religious implications that took place in Jerusalem during this period include:.

The British controlled the city and surrounding region until Israel became an independent state in Israel controlled the Western portions of it, while Jordan controlled East Jerusalem. This ancient landmark is the holiest place in Judaism. The site is also the location of the first and second Temples and the spot where many Jewish prophets taught.

Christians also believe the site is significant to their faith. Because it has religious and historical implications, occupation of the Temple Mount has been the cause of bitter conflict for centuries, especially between Jews and Muslims living nearby. But today, the Islamic Waqf governs what happens inside the compound, while Israeli forces control external security. In A. During the Crusades , the Christians turned the landmark into a church. In , Muslims recaptured the Dome of the Rock and re-designated it as a shrine.

Both structures are considered holy to Muslims. The Western Wall is a section of ancient remnant wall from the second Jewish Temple.

Each year, millions of Jews from around the world visit the wall. Because Muslims control the Temple Mount the true site of the ancient Temples , the Western Wall is considered the holiest place where Jews can pray. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built in A. Thousands of Christian pilgrims from around the world travel to this church each year. Many regard it as the holiest Christian site in the world. A stretch of the Western Wall — nearly 1, feet meters long — was revealed in pristine condition, exactly as constructed by Herod.

In this confined space, you are walking on the original pavement from the Second Temple period and following in the footsteps of the pilgrims who walked here 2, years ago on their way to participate in the rituals on the Temple Mount.

At the end of this man-made tunnel, a 65 foot 20 meters long section of a paved road and an earlier, rock-cut Hasmonean aqueduct leading to the Temple Mount were uncovered. A short new tunnel leads outside to the Via Dolorosa in the Muslim Quarter. Ultra-Orthodox Jews oppose organized women's prayer services at the Wall; prayer services they maintain, may only be conducted by males.

Public pressure has grown over the years to allow women to pray collectively at the Kotel. Similarly, Jews from the Conservative and Reform movements have been fighting with the Orthodox authorities who control access to the Wall for the right to conduct their own services. Clashes have unfortunately turned violent in recent years; however, the political trend has been moving in the direction of greater pluralism. Near the Wall , men are often approached by Orthodox Jews who want them to put on tefillin.

A few rabbis also hang out in the area and will approach young people and ask them for the time or strike up a conversation. Their intent is to persuade you to go with them to a yeshiva. Going with them can be a rewarding experience -- some people stay for years -- but don't let yourself be intimidated or misled about their purpose. This excavation reveals 2, years of Jerusalem's history in 25 layers of ruins from the structures of successive rulers.

The ancient staircase and the Hulda Gate, through which worshippers entered the Second Temple compound, and the remnants of a complex of royal palaces of the 7th century Muslim period are among the antiquities excavated. This 40 acre plateau is dominated by two shrines, the Dome of the Rock which is not a mosque and the al-Aqsa mosque. The shrines, built in the seventh century, made definitive the identification of Jerusalem as the "Remote Place" that is mentioned in the Koran. Muslims remove their shoes and express their devotion to Allah inside the Dome of the Rock , which was built around the rock on which Abraham bound his son Isaac to be sacrificed before God intervened.

According to some old maps and traditions, this is the center of the earth. This is also the place where the Koran says Mohammed ascended to heaven. Muslim tradition also holds that the rock tried to follow the Prophet, whose footprints are said to be on the rock.

For many years, pilgrims would chip off pieces of the rock to take home with them, but glass partitions now prevent visitors from taking souvenirs. A special wooden cabinet next to the rock holds strands of Mohammed's hair.

Under the rock is a chamber known as the Well of the Souls. This is where it is said that all the souls of the dead congregate. The al-Aqsa mosque Ministry of Tourism. At the southern end of the Temple Mount is the gray-domed al-Aksa mosque. The name means "the distant one," and refers to the fact that it was the most distant sanctuary visited by Mohammed.

It is also the place where Mohammed experienced the "night journey," which is why it is considered the third holiest Islamic shrine after Mecca and Medina. In , King Abdullah of Transjordan Jordanian King Abdullah's great-grandfather was assassinated in front of the mosque.

Between the mosques is a great water fountain used by Muslims to wash their feet before entering the holy places. Visitors must also remove their shoes. Both mosques are closed to tourists during the five times each day when Muslims pray. The Temple Mount also has a small museum. A radical group of Orthodox Jews have periodically issued threats against the Muslim shrines in hopes of rebuilding the Temple there.

These threats are treated seriously by the Israeli authorities and the group is kept away from the Temple Mount. More mainstream Orthodox opinion forbids Jews from walking on the Temple Mount because of the possibility of unwittingly defiling the place where sacrifices were once offered. Non-Orthodox Jews typically accept the opinion of other authorities who argue the sanctity of the Temple Mount ended when the Temple and altar were destroyed and that it is permissible for Jews to go there so long as they show respect for what was once a holy place.

Despite the name, the Muslim Quarter is also the site of many important Christian sites, including the Church of St. The Via Dolorosa begins in this section of the city and most of the Way of the Cross is actually in the Muslim rather than the Christian Quarter. Most Muslims who live inside the Old City have homes in the Muslim Quarter, but this is an area where Jews resided for decades. In recent years, some Jews have moved back to this part of the city, an act viewed by Muslims and many others as unnecessarily provocative, though the Jewish residents would argue they have every right to live anywhere in their capital.

Visitors tour the inside of the Old City of Jerusalem , but most do not know they can climb on top of the ramparts to get a different perspective.

Not only do you get a spectacular view of the city beyond the walls, you get a unique look, especially in the Muslim Quarter , at how people live inside the city. The entrances are surprisingly difficult to find, but worth the effort. The walls are approximately two-and-a-half miles long. It is not possible to circumnavigate the city atop the walls. The street separates the Citadel and Jaffa Gate at one end of the city.

At the opposite end, the wall walk ends at St. Stephen's Lion's Gate , because you cannot walk along the wall surrounding the Temple Mount. This is where the walk beginning at the Jaffa Gate ends.

From the Citadel , it is possible to look at what once was a moat surrounding Herod's palace. The walk actually ends atop the police station. Beyond the walls, one gets a spectacular view of the new city, Yemin Moshe , the hotels, and shopping mall outside Jaffa Gate. As one walks around the wall, you can look inside at an Armenian seminary and a huge vacant lot in one of the most ancient parts of the Old City.