Partially Accessible

Accessible

Not accessible

Free Entrance

Open Friday Night

Has Sukka

Free Wi-Fi

Free Parking

Open on Saturday

Great View

Markets

Statues, Monuments & Memorials

Stadiums and Sport Halls

Sites

Historical Sites

View Points

Art Galleries

Playgrounds

Parks and Nature

Museums

Muslim Holy Sites

Jewish Holy Sites

Christian Holy Sites

Visitor Centers

Hidden Gems 

Culture Lovers

Christian

Children

Bar/Bat Mitzva

For Families

For Couples

Business

Youngsters

Honeymoon

Groups

Art Lovers

Conference Organizers

Jewish Religious

For birthdays

Event Planners

Guests From Abroad

Fun Days For Workers

Adventurers

Budget Travelers

Most Popular

Travelers Share

Editor's Pick

Discounts & Coupons

Purim

Sukkot

Hanukkah

Christmas

Winter

Passover

Easter

Shavuot

Summer

Spring

Year-round

Ramadan

City Center

Near Old city

The Old City

Green Jerusalem

3 stars & up

2 stars & up

5 Stars

4 stars & up

Attractions in The Old City

Attractions

The museum allows us to look back into the everyday lives of the members of the Old Yishuv in Jerusalem. The Old Yishuv is the name of the Jewish settlement in Jerusalem, which was established before the departure from the walls of the Old City.

Old Yishuv Court Museum

Al-Aqsa Mosque, located south of the Temple Mount near Shlomo's Ark, is a large and impressive place of prayer and one of the most important and sacred mosques in the Muslim world. The Al-Aqsa Mosque has the structure of a Byzantine basilica, and its dome is visible from a distance. Non-Muslims are prohibited from entering the mosque, but you can visit the complex during opening hours without entering the buildings.

Free Entry

Accessibility

Al-Aqsa Mosque

A photo exhibit of the defenders of the Jewish Quarter

Alone on the Walls - 1948 Old City Siege

Let’s take a tour of the burnt house and get to know one of the most important sites in the Old City. The Burnt House is a home from the Second Temple period that was excavated during the restoration of the Jewish Quarter after the unification of Jerusalem. 

Kids Friendly

The Burnt House (Katros House)

The Chain of Generations Center relates the fascinating story of the Jewish people through 3,500 years - from exile to statehood, destruction to rebuilding, and crisis to hope - using music, sculpture, archaeology and light and sound effects.

Chain of Generations - Multimedia Show

trs-crd-thekotel-org-chain-of-generations-3.jpg

<p style="text-align: justify;">A main center of Christianity, the Christian Quarter in the Old City is filled with a variety of churches, some many centuries-old, including the renowned Church of the Holy Sepulcher. A trip to Jerusalem by both pilgrims and regular tourists is made more complete with a wander around this Christian Quarter in the Old City, an unmatched density of history and wonder, whose stories and traditions affect billions of people's daily lives worldwide.</p>

Christian Quarter - Old City

atr-olc-crd-christian-quarter-streets-noam-chen.jpg

Located at the heart of the Christian Quarter, this road is one of the most colorful streets in the old city. Its orientation is south to north, and it connect between David Street to Hachanke and Saint Francis Streets. The street serves mainly Christian pilgrims who visit Jerusalem, and therefore many shops offer an abundance of holy vessels and Christian souvenirs such as prayer beads, candles, thorn crowns and Judaica objects.

The Christian Quarter Road is a central and ancient street in the old city and specifically in the Christian Quarter. This can be concluded from the length and width of the street in relation to the other streets of the old city. It was a wide street constructed during the Roman period, when Jerusalem became a Roman pagan city named “Ilya Capitolina”. Excavations conducted in this street after 1967 exposed large and slotted paving stones dating back to the end of the Roman era (end of the 3<sup>rd</sup> century/beginning of the 4<sup>th</sup> century).

Christian Quarter Road

The Church of All Nations is located near the Garden of Gethsemane in the western part of Mount Olives, where, according to Christian tradition, Jesus prayed his last prayer. 

Church of All Nations & Gathsemane

The Church of Mary Magdalene is a Russian church on the western slopes of the Mount of Olives. The church was nicknamed the Onion Church thanks to its domes shape on its minarets that look like golden onions.

Not Accessible

Church of Mary Magdalene

The Church of St John the Baptist is a small church in the south of the Christian quarter in the old city, at the corner of Christians Street and David Street. 

Church of St. John the Baptist

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is the most sacred site for millions of Christian believers

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre

atr-olc-crd-the-golgota-church-of-the-holy-sepulchre-noam-chen.jpg

This is the center of the Coptic Church in Jerusalem. The community of the Coptic Christians is an ancient Christian community originating in Egypt. The origin of the name “Coptic” is the word “Egyptus”, the Greek word for Egypt. According to their tradition, the Coptic Church was established by Saint Mark, one of the composers of the New Testament in the middle of the 1<sup>st</sup> century AD. Ancient Cristian scripts from the 2<sup>nd</sup> century onward were found in Egypt, and in its deserts emerged the Christian monasticism movement of the 3<sup>rd</sup> century.

Following the Council of Chalcedon in 451, the Coptic church split from the Byzantine church together with the Syrian and Ethiopian churches (followed by the Armenian church), due to their belief in “monophysitism” – a single and united nature of Jesus, godly and human, that cannot be separated. This is contrary to the “Dyophysitism” perception, which perceives Jesus as having two separate natures, godly and human.

The Coptic compound is named after Saint Anthony, and it houses the abode of the Coptic archbishop. The Coptic patriarch’s abode is located in Alexandria. The heart of the monastery is the church of Saint Anthony, named after the Egypt-born saint who ridded himself of all of his assets to live in isolation in the desert. Anthony, who is considered father of the monasticism movement, fought against the devil, who tried to snatch his hat- a symbol of piety and innocence. His hat was torn during this symbolic struggle between good and evil. In memory of this battle, the Coptic monks’ hats have a longitudinal stitch, from the nape to the forehead, which enables us to easily identify them. The Coptic Christians have their own calendar which starts from 285 AD, the year Emperor Diocletian came to power and started persecuting the Christians.

Below the compound there are a number of connected halls from the Middle Ages as well as a huge well carved in the stone. The ancient well is named after Helena, Emperor Constantine’s mother, who arrived in Jerusalem in the 4<sup>th</sup> century, and identified the location of Jesus’ crucifixion and burial. The Coptic community also owns the Chapel of the Virgin Mary that is adjacent to the Holy Sepulcher, and some other buildings in the Christian Quarter.

It is possible to visit Saint Helena’s Pool (it can be entered through the main entrance. On the right side there is a chapel dedicated to Helena, and further from the main entrance, there is another entrance to the well. It is customary to pay a small sum in exchange for the visit to the site).

Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate

This is one of the most beautiful and impressive gates among the gates of the wall

Damascus Gate

<p style="text-align: justify;">David Palombo (1920-1966) was a Turkish-born Israeli sculptor and painter best known for sculptures that adorn several famous sites in Israel. Among these are the gates for the Yizkor (memorial) Tent at the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum and the previous entrance gates to the Knesset.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Stylistically speaking, Palombo’s sculptures departed from the prevalent aesthetic norm in that they tended to employ a higher center of gravity. Many of his works can be found at the David Palombo Museum, which is situated in the artist’s former workshop right outside the Old City on Mount Zion.</p>

David Palombo Museum

Davidson Center, the Jerusalem Archaeological Park, is located nearby the Western Wall in the Old City. Davidson Center is one of Jerusalem’s top tourist attractions due to its historical and archeological significance and, of course, its beauty

Family Friendly

Family

Suitable for Groups

people

For Events

Private Events

The Jerusalem Archaeological Park - Davidson Center

<p style="text-align: justify;">Islam’s third holiest site after Mecca and Medina, the Dome of the Rock is built on top of the <a href="https://itraveljerusalem.com/attraction/temple-mount/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Temple Mount</a> in the Old City. At the heart of the sanctuary is the Foundation Stone where, according to Islamic tradition, the prophet Muhammad ascended to Heaven.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The Dome, which was completed in 691-692 A.D., and has since come to define Jerusalem’s skyline, is an excellent example of middle Byzantine art. The man who initiated the construction, Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, hoped that the building, a shrine for pilgrims rather than a mosque for public worship, would “house the Muslims from cold and heat.” The structure was restored many times throughout the centuries, coated once with gold, then with tiles.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The most recent restoration of the site was carried out in 1998 by Jordan’s King Hussein II, who sold one of his houses in London to help fund the 80 kilograms of gold required to coat the dome. The sanctuary’s lavish interior is decorated with mosaic, marble and inscriptions. One of the reasons why the sanctuary has remained intact through the centuries, withstanding earthquakes that destroyed many nearby structures, is its octagonal shape.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Non-Muslim visitors are not allowed to enter the Dome of the Rock, but can get a close look from the Temple Mount courtyard during regular non-Muslim visiting hours.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">As with other holy sites in Jerusalem, visitors to the Temple Mount are asked to dress modestly.</p>

Visit Dome of the Rock - Jerusalem

<p style="text-align: justify;">Business owner George Kahvedjian is the son of legendary Armenian photographer Elia Kahvedjian who beginning in 1924 documented the history of Jerusalem through the lens of his camera. In the shop you can acquire a wide range of rare historical photographs of the Old City from before the Six Day War in 1967.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">George Kahvedjian photographs capture individuals in the midst of prayer, pilgrims, Old City vendors, moments of co-existence and the streets and alleys of Jerusalem. George’s book, ‘Jerusalem Through My Father’s Eyes’ can be purchased as well.</p>

Elia Photo Service

<h2></h2>
<h2>About the Sephardic Synagogues</h2>
If the Hurva Synagogue persisted as the Jewish Quarter’s central Ashkenazi place of worship throughout much of the 19th and 20th centuries, when it comes to Sephardic synagogues, things were not quite as clear-cut.

In-fact, the main Sephardic house of prayer was a complex consisting of four adjoining sanctuaries: the Yochanan Ben Zakai Synagogue, the Istanbuli Synagogue, the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue, and the Emtsai Synagogue.

When the Jewish Quarter fell to the Jordanians in the 1948 War of Independence, the Four Sephardic Synagogues were burnt and subsequently used as horse stables. After Israel recaptured the Old City in 1967, they were restored to their former glory and today continue to serve residents of the Jewish Quarter and visitors to the Old City.

Today, the synagogues also serve as venues for bar mitzvahs, weddings, lectures, lavish banquets and other types of events.
<h3>The Yochanan Ben Zakai Synagogue</h3>
The Yochanan Ben Zakai Synagogue was erected in the early 17th-century in a Gothic-Spanish motif. Named after one of the founders of the Sanhedrin in Yavne following the destruction of the Second Temple, the site is also thought to be where Yochanan Ben Zakai's midrash (scholarly institution) once stood.

The synagogue hall is particularly significant to the Sephardic community because it was the home of the chief Sephardic rabbi during the eras of Ottoman and British rule in Israel. Recently, it also hosted the coronation of Israel's chief Sephardic rabbi.
<h3>The Eliahu Hanavi Synagogue</h3>
The Eliahu Hanavi Synagogue is the oldest of the 4 Sephardic synagogues, established in the 16th century as a school for studying Jewish law and was only used for prayer during holidays.

It was named for the prophet Elijah after one day when the congregation was missing a person to complete the quorum, a mysterious stranger arrived to complete the quorum. Believing that the stranger was the prophet Elijah, the congregants named the synagogue after him and have kept the chair he sat in until this very day.

While it was originally Sephardic, the synagogue has been Ashkenazi since the 18th century.
<h3>The Emtsai Synagogue</h3>
The smallest of the 4 synagogues, the Independent synagogue was built between the others, and it is believed that the space had previously served as the women’s section of the adjacent Yochanan Ben Zakai Synagogue.

According to tradition, the synagogue was built atop a tunnel system that connected the synagogues to the tombs of the kings.
<h3>Istanbuli Synagogue</h3>
The Istanbuli Synagogue, the largest of the four, was built in the 1760s by the city’s burgeoning community of Turkish Jews. The Emtsai (or ‘middle’) Synagogue was established in the mid-18th century in order to accommodate the rapidly growing Sephardic community.

&nbsp;

Four Sephardic Synagogues in Jerusalem

Those who have visited Tzfat invariably tour the HaAri synagogue for its history and ornate decor. However, few know that there is another HaAri synagogue right in Jerusalem's Old City.

Rabbi Issac Luria, also known as The Ari, or "HaAri" (literally, "the lion," but also a Hebrew acronym meaning "the divine Rabbi Isaac"), was one of the most prominent mystics in Jewish history. The HaAri, who lived in the 16th century, for the most part in the north of Israel, established a school of Jewish mysticism known as Lurianic Kabbalah.

The system revolutionized Kabbalistic thought and continues to be hugely influential both among Jewish mystics and in the pop-Kaballah circles made famous (some would say, infamous) by such practitioners as Madonna, Ashton Kutcher, and David Beckham. According to tradition, the HaAri Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City is located in the building where Luria was born and resided for 20 years.

Like several other houses of prayer, the HaAri Synagogue was established inside a residential building in order to avoid detection by the Ottoman authorities, who had forbidden the city’s Jews to engage in public prayer. The synagogue was destroyed during the Arab riots of 1936, but has since been restored.

HaAri Synagogue

The Jaffa Gate is one of the eight gates of the Old City of Jerusalem. The gate is located on the city's western side, and you can reach it by public transport or private car, which we recommend leaving in the Mamilla Boulevard parking lot or the Karta parking lot (which is closer).

Paid Parking

Jaffa Gate

atr-olc-crd-jaffa-gate-ministry-of-tourism.jpg

<p style="text-align: justify;">Lady Tonsok, daughter of Abdullah al-Muthaffariyye, was the wife of the Mameluke ruler Muthaffar al-Din. The lady dedicated the building at the end of the 14th-century to a Sufi order, a group of Muslim mystics, but continued to live in the palace until she died. She was buried in the tomb chamber across from the palace.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">In the 16th-century Mameluke Jerusalem was conquered by the Ottoman army, which was armed with guns and cannons.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Under Ottoman rule Jerusalem became a frontier town at the edge of the Ottoman Empire, but the Temple Mount remained a major religious center. During this time the building was occupied by Hasseki Sultana, the most beloved of the wives of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, the builder of the walls around the city of Jerusalem. She was known for her charitable works and established a soup kitchen to feed poor and needy Muslims.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">During the later Ottoman Period this became the site of the sar’iyye, the government building, which housed the local government and police force. Today the building is used as a vocational school.</p>

The Lady Tonsok Palace Facade