Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls

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• Old City Of Jerusalem And Its Walls

As a holy city for Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Jerusalem has always been of great symbolic importance. Among its 220 historic monuments, the Dome of the Rock stands out: built in the 7th century, it is decorated with beautiful geometric and floral motifs. It is recognized by all three religions as the site of Abraham’s sacrifice. The Wailing Wall delimits the quarters of the different religious communities, while the Resurrection rotunda in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre houses Christ’s tomb.

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The Old City of Jerusalem is that part of Jerusalem surrounded by the impressive 16th-century Ottoman city walls and representing the heart of the city both historically and spiritually. In a city already divided, the Old City is further divided culturally and historically into four residential Quarters: (clockwise from the southeast) the Jewish, Armenian, Christian, and Muslim Quarters. A fifth area, the Temple Mount/Haram esh-Sharif, contains the Dome of the Rock, Al-Aqsa Mosque, and other Muslim religious sites, and was once the site of the Jewish Temple. The whole Old City is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The core of Jerusalem, the Old City, has a history that stretches back more than 3,000 years. The present street plan dates largely from Byzantine times, with the walls and ramparts dating back to the 16th century. The crossroad of three continents, Jerusalem has been one of the most fought over cities in human… [read more].