Your name will scorch my lips forever,
Like a seraph's kiss, untold,
If I forget thee, golden city,
Jerusalem of Gold.
-Naomi Shemer
When the sun sets over the Judean hills, Jerusalem's white stone turns to gold and
peace seems to be within the city's grasp. The domes, spires, and minarets of the
worship of three faiths rise over the Old City walls in quiet harmony. But Jerusa-
lem is not always as serene as its evening breeze and rooftop view. The white
stone, from which all of Jerusalem's new buildings are constructed, is indelibly, if
invisibly, stained with the blood of centuries.
In this city that has been the battleground and spoil of countless holy wars, the
magnificent spirituality that defines Jerusalem bursts forth from every square inch
of space; it cannot be escaped. As Israeli poet Yehuda Amihai commented, the "air
over Jerusalem is saturated with prayers and dreams, like the air over industrial
cities. It's hard to breathe."
Spiritual over-saturation doesn't hinder Jerusalem's magnetic attraction; it
heightens it. Jews, from ultra-Orthodox to secular, Christians of all denomina-
tions, Muslims, missionaries, pilgrims and tourists from every continent, mystics,
and raving lunatics all come to Jerusalem with their spiritual baggage in tow. The
time warp is most evident on a city bus, where black robes, habits, and kefyehs
mingle with halter tops and baseball caps. Jerusalem is the modern capital for
ancient peoples and a headline grabber for age-old disputes. Every street here is a
crucible, and, for better or for worse, every footstep has an element of prayer.
The Via Dolorosa winds through the crowded Old City souq to Jesus's tomb.
Contemplate the miracle of the Resurrection over an apple-flavored tobacco smoke in
an Arab coffeehouse in the Muslim Quarter.
Wonder anew at the glory of negative spaces in the works of Rodin and Picasso at the
Israel Museum's sculpture garden.
Spend a morning at the Yad va-Shem Holocaust memorial museum for a pow-
erful reminder of the atrocities committed by Nazis in WWII Europe.
Wade by candlelight through Hezekiah's Tunnel , dry off on the walk back to
Dung Gate, and spend the afternoon exploring the intricate
Islamic architecture of the mosques of the Dome of the Rock.
history
BIBLICAL TIMES, THE GREEKS, AND THE ROMANS. During Jerusalem's
5000 years, 18 conquerors have presided over the city. Archaeological findings
indicate that Jerusalem (Jebus, then) was a Canaanite settlement for 2000-3000
years before lung David's conquest around 1000 ВСЕ (II Samuel 5). David estab-
lished Jerusalem as the capital of the Israelite kingdom; his son Solomon extended
the city's boundaries northward to include the present-day Temple Mount (see The
Iron Age, ). Solomon built the First Temple on the Mount, where sacrificial
observances were centralized and the Ark of the Covenant kept.