JERUSALEM - HOME TO THREE WORLD RELIGIONS

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From the Temple Mount to the City of David

Our tour starts this morning at the Temple Mount , which is of utmost importance for all three monotheistic world religions, and is also called Har ha-Bait or Haram-al-Sharif. Jerusalem's importance to all three religions begins with the tradition that Mount Moriah is said to have been the place from which the world was created by God. Furthermore, the story of Abraham is significant for all three world religions: on God's command Abraham brought his son Isaac to Mount Moriah to offer him as a burnt offering to the Lord. This is exactly where the most important shrine in Judaism once stood - the First Temple of King Solomon and later the magnificent Second Temple of King Herod. Jesus visited the temple several times, the last time during the Passion Week, and called it "my father's house". And according to Islamic tradition, Mohammed is said to have started his ascension to heaven and his encounter with the earlier prophets of Judaism and Jesus from the Temple Mount.

​We only visit all the buildings on the Temple Mount from the outside: the beautiful Dome of the Rock with its golden dome, which adorns the Temple Mount to this day, is the oldest Islamic sacred building. It was built at the end of the 7th century by the Ummayads. We also see the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Chain Dome.

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Then we walk to the Western Wall , which is the most holy place for Jews today. The wall is the only remnant of the former retaining wall of the Second Temple built by King Herod and destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. Here you can leave your deepest wish or prayer on a small piece of paper in the cracks of the 2000-year-old holy wall.

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Then we climb up to the Jewish Quarter, which after the Jordanian destruction in 1948,  was completely rebuilt after the reunification of East and West Jerusalem  in 1967. Here we see the 2700-year-old wide city wall of King Hezekiah , the so-called Broad Wall from the time of the First Temple, as well as the old Cardo from Byzantine times. We walk past the landmark of the Jewish quarter, the imposing Hurva Synagogue, and learn how it got its interesting name.

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We leave the old town through the Dung Gate and stroll to the 3000-year-old City of David , the excavations of the first Jewish Jerusalem, which was made the capital of the United Kingdom under King David.

Of course we go through one of the underground tunnels. Both the dry and wet tunnel end near the Shiloah Pool (Pool of Siloam), where Jesus healed a blind man.

The more than 500 m long (0.3 miles) Hezekiah Tunnel, where you wade in the water, requires suitable shoes for water, a bathing suit or quick-drying clothing.

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Duration of the tour: Full day tour (approx. 8 hours)

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