If you want to travel back in time and have a multisensory experience when learning its history, you must visit the religious city of Jerusalem. Being one of the oldest cities in the world, it has suffered many wounds. This ancient city is located in the Middle East, packed with religious history and also a political conflict involving Palestine. When you are here you can’t help but to be invested in all that has occurred over 4000 years ago. They say in Jerusalem, history is not a closed chapter. A place where you can physically see pieces of the ancient world.
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Entry to Israel: You don’t need a visa to enter Israel. Whether you're crossing from Jordan or flying in from somewhere else, Israel customs are strict and will make sure you don’t have an ulterior motive when entering their country. Be prepared for them to be quite intimidating, asking every possible question like, parents names, where they are born, where you work, who you know in Israel etc.
What to know before you go: Israel is very expensive, especially accommodation, so pre planning can help you budget better. Also, learn the history before you go! You can totally mistake the most monumental church for a regular basic church, if you’re not aware of its history, because most attractions look uninteresting, like every other wall or church. You will be much more amazed knowing you’re looking at one of the holiest places on earth, for example.
Safety: You will find armed police at various checkpoints throughout Jerusalem so you will feel very safe. I was shocked to learn that every Israeli citizen over the age of 18 who is Jewish, Druze or Circassian must enroll in the army named IDF, male or female. So I was shocked to see young girls and boys that looked much younger than me with semi-automatic weapons casually.
When to Go: Wintertime gets too cold and summer can get hot and overcrowded. Best time is Spring, specifically March but also April, May and October-November. Avoid Saturdays as that is Shabbat, holy day for Jews, where they don’t do business so mostly everything is closed.
Where to Stay: Stay in the downtown triangle in the new city, for amazing restaurants, markets and livelihood of the people. Since Jerusalem is quite expensive we stayed at a small hotel called Ibis Styles Jerusalem City Center, it was modern, clean and was in the center close to everything we needed.
How to get around: On foot is best, since everything from the new city (downtown) to the old is relatively close. But you can take a taxi for places uphill or a bit farther like Mount of Olives viewpoint.
What to wear: Dress modestly, mostly covered up especially near the religious sites. Long pants, blouse, dress, preferably airy, loose fitted in seasons where it’s hot.
DAY 1
Exploring Old City
Jerusalem's ‘old city’ is the most interesting square km in the world. When you are here it is crazy to imagine that this square used to be all of Jerusalem, outside of it used to be empty land until not too long ago.
It is home to holy sites for all three Abrahamic faiths- Judaism, Christianity and Islam who all closely co-exist. It is bordered by tall walls that within them is divided into four quarters Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Armenian.
Here you will find holiest of holy sites such as Western Wall, Dome of the Rock, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The place is filled with pilgrims year round to worship sacred locations linked to their faith. The maze-like paths are filled with shops and food pertaining to each quarters' culture.
Via Dolorosa
Walk Via Dolorosa path believed by Christians to be the path Jesus took while holding the cross before being crucified.
There are fourteen stations (points) that show his journey on this road. The first nine are in the Muslim quarter. Ultimately you will be led into the Holy Sepulchre church where the last five points are and where he was crucified.
Holy Sepulchre Church
This area was destroyed and rebuilt too many times. Holy Sepulchre church was built over where Jesus was nailed to the cross, died and rose from the dead.
Once you arrive here, the first thing you will see is the Stone of Anointing, the place where Jesus’ body was laid after death. You can see people come here to pray and touch the rock and bless their valuables. Next, the site of his death, the Rock of Calvary, that you can also touch. You usually wait in a long line to see the Tomb of Jesus called the Edicule but you only get a second in there before being rushed out by the priests.
Western Wall
First you can’t miss the famous and ancient western wall extending 480 m but only has a small part exposed. This is the holy of holies for Jews as the wall supports a part of the Temple Mount compound which is the original wall connected to the second temple that stood over 2500 years ago. They believe they are the closest to God here. Entry to the Temple Mount is restricted because of the al Aqsa Mosque on top revered by Muslims.
You’ll see Jews bobbing their heads in prayer at two access sections, a large side for men and a smaller side for women. For faster answered prayer, they stuff prayer notes within the cracks of the wall rock. When Jews around the world pray they must face Jerusalem, towards the wall.
Western Wall Tunnels Tour
Buy a ticket right by the western wall for a group guided tour to see another perspective of the wall underground. This tour is 1 hour 15 min. You will walk through this carved out tunnel that was at one point the original street level thousands of years ago! The tour guide will go into detail of its history and you will be amazed and shocked by the findings.
DAY 2
Mount of Olives
Take a taxi up to Mount of Olives, another place of importance for Jews, as you’ll find one of the world’s oldest graveyards in Jerusalem with over 150,000 graves and over 3000 years old. Here you’ll also get some of the best views of the old city and Jerusalem.
At a small house near this viewpoint we stumbled upon the Tomb of the Prophets. Here you go underground and are given a candle to witness 26 open carved burial niches, some being of Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. No visible bodies in each carving, you can observe closely and also see inscriptions dated back to the Byzantine period around 600 CE. We took a taxi up to Mount Olive but walked back down towards the old city which was quite long but, nice.
Exploring Downtown
Not too far from the old city, is Jerusalem’s “new city”. A more modernized side where you’ll find the younger crowds, markets, art stores, shopping, restaurants, street musicians, and buzzing nightlife. By nightlife I don’t mean clubs and party’s (not that I have seen at least), it’s usually crowds staying up way into the night outdoors or in bars.
Mahane Yehuda Market
Visit the biggest market in the new city where you can spice up your life with an array of things to eat and buy. A hub for locals and tourists to enjoy the most delicious traditional Israeli food like shawarma, falafel, hummus, shakshuka, burrika and more. Find an array of cheeses, spices, halva(dessert), meats, fresh produce and more. For some fun, visit at night where some hubs bump up the music and turn into lively bars and restaurants.
Food
Just a 2 minute walk outside the market, head to Pepitos or Arais Machane Yehuda for their decadent meat options. For a vegan option, just next to Arais, visit Mimonis for delicious and aesthetically pleasing vegan food.
Rooftop of Notre Dame of Jerusalem Centre
After a lot of walking, learning and discovering, you will just want to just chill at a spot where you can take it all in. To do this, head to the Observation deck at the Notre Dame of Jerusalem Centre, a castle-like building, ask no questions and take the elevator up to the rooftop. If it appears closed just hop on over, and you will be rewarded with the most beautiful views of Jerusalem. Catch the sunset and watch as this beautiful city illuminates.
Eat some Ethiopian Food
Then, the best part, food! After eating all the mouth watering middle eastern food, you must diversify your pallet and head to Queen of Sheba. I was ignorant to the Ethiopian population here, and extremely excited to try the food here. This is a small family owned restaurant that serves the most delicious Ethiopian food. The food is flavorful and delicious. Thank me later.
DAY 3
Morning Tour to Bethlehem
Book a morning tour on GetYourGuide.com to spend half the day being guided through more historical religious sites.
Church of Shepherds Fields
First stop was at the Church of Shepherds located southeast of Bethlehem in the West Bank in Palestine. This is the place believed by Christians where three shepherds saw a falling star, but it was actually an angel passing the message that Jesus was being born in Bethlehem and to go there. Here your guide brings you to nearby caves where there was a series of mostly pottery remains dating back to a mosaic 4th-century.
West Bank
We headed over further into the West Bank, where the guide a Palestinian, taught us briefly about the historical, political battle between Palestine and Israel. How much the Palestinians were really affected by it, in all aspects of their lives.
You can see the division through the high barrier walls and the cries for help on them through the beautiful large displays of art. Being here gives you a different perspective and makes you want to learn more.
Church of Nativity Jesus Birthplace
Also known as the Basilica of the Nativity, this is the birthplace of Jesus. It is a church located in Bethlehem in the Occupied West Bank and is the oldest major church in the Holy Land. Original was built around 330-330 BCE and the newer one around 530 BCE. As you can imagine, this place gets quite packed with some pushing and shoving to impatiently touch the star where he was born.
Nearby is the The Milk Grotto Church where Mary nursed Jesus. The name’s significance came from the belief that a drop of her milk turned the church inside white. This place is also believed to heal infertile couples and prayers for children to be answered.
Stroll Old City at Night
First, see a closer view of the Dome of the Rock, the iconic gold-domed Islamic mosque. This sits on the Temple Mount which is also holy for Jews as the location of the First and Second Temples built and destroyed thousands of years ago.
Non-Muslim tourists can only see the outside of the mosque on the Temple Mount. But are only open to the public at specific hours. We went during the supposed open times but were still denied entry.
Night walks around the old city are the best as it’s quiet, less crowds and there's something in the air that makes you feel so at peace.
Conclusion
It's extremely fascinating to witness the evolution of this diversity. You’ll see a Jew walking through the Muslim quarter and vice versa. Although different ideologies, they cross each other's paths respectfully (for the most part) and co-exist in this square considering the history of political, territorial and religious wars. Conflict and tensions that still holds relevance for some, mostly older generations. Nonetheless, I've never been more invested in a country's history until coming here, I am very happy to have learned so much, you feel a little bit of everything here and think it is a place everyone should check off their bucket list.
Planning on going to the Jerusalem? Been already? I would love to know your experience and what you did differently, or if you have any questions please let me know in the comments!
Until the next trip, adios! <3
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