Jerusalem - World's Top 10 Destinations on the Rise
Hot off the press! Jerusalem has been named one of the "World's Top 10 Destinations on the Rise" according to a recent survey by TripAdvisor. Here is why.
Let's begin as you enter Jerusalem, a World Heritage Site. Look up and see Dr. Santiago Calatrava's "Bridge of Strings" which alludes to King David's harp and creates links in the Holy City between religious and spiritual experiences, archaeological sites and modern attractions, cultures, architecture and culinary experiences.
Did you know that:
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Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, and captured and recaptured 44 times (according to Wikipedia)? Some of the perpetrators of these events were: King David, King Solomon, King of Assyria, Nebuchadnezzar, King Crusaders, the Mamluks, Suleiman the Magnificent and the Ottoman Turks and the British Mandate.
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The Old City of Jerusalem is a walled city with eight gates and 4 quarters – Armenian, Christian, Jewish and Muslim, each with its own character, sites, smells and sounds.
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Jerusalem is of major significance to the three main monotheistic religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Western Wall is the holiest site for Jews to pray at. It is the last remnant of the retaining wall which encompassed the Second Temple. Here wishes are wedged between the crevices. Muslims believe that Mohammed soared to Heaven in a dream from the Temple Mount. Jesus Christ lived and died in Jerusalem. The Via Dolorosa, Jesus’ final path, is where pilgrims come to follow Jesus’ footsteps along the 14 Stations of the Cross, ending at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
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The Mount of Olives to the east of the Old City is a large Jewish cemetery dating back approximately 3,000 years and holding over 150,000 grave stones. Many Jews made this their final resting place so they would be in Jerusalem for the coming of the Messiah.
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The New City of Jerusalem invites you to the colorful and vibrant market, the view of the Old and New City from the tops of the walls at night, the Israel Museum with more than 500,000 items of fine art, archaeology, Judaica and Jewish ethnography, the Shrine of the Book with the Dead Sea Scrolls, Yad Vashem - the memorial to the millions of Jews slaughtered during the Holocaust, the Tower of David Museum in David's Citadel, the Knesset - Israel's Parliament Building, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Supreme Court complex, Mini Israel with miniature replicas of important buildings found throughout Israel, Mt. Herzl with graves of Theodore Herzl, Yitzhak Rabin and others, and the numerous sound, light and music festivals.
There is so much more waiting for you. No wonder Jerusalem was awarded the title of "One of the World's Top Destinations on the Rise".