Maybe you were raised to revere this place, or maybe you weren’t and it’s always just been a troubled city in a newspaper to you. Either way, let’s face it: the historical hometown of prophets and kings, several key stones in Jerusalem have touched all of our lives through the religions they inspired, and have galvanized two millennia of conflict that continue to shape the world we live in. Whether you are religious or not, Jerusalem is probably the reason you came here.
Falling in love with Jerusalem is a complicated process. If you’re confident in your understanding of the city after your first day, you’re either the next saint/prophet/Messiah/ bodhisattva /scientology alien, or you’re kidding yourself. This is not the most glamorous city in Israel; it is anything but relaxing. You may be struck by the profoundly unholy actions of some of the supposedly holy people here. You will begin to suspect that the taxi drivers, street vendors, and locals-turned-tour guides are trying to scam you. Sooner or later—perhaps through a taxi driver’s offhand comment or a debate on the roof of your hostel—the Palestinian-Israeli conflict will come and find you. Unease and ambivalence comes with it. 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.”
The trick is to give Jerusalem time. The city has been working its indefinable charm and spiritual power on its visitors for thousands of years, and it is nothing less than infectious. Jerusalem’s bitter conflicts are rooted in its cultural diversity, and exploring the city’s patchwork of neighborhoods can be as enriching as paying homage to its majestic religious sites. Jews, from ultra-Orthodox to secular, Christians of all denominations, 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.
Three world religions agree that this is the Holy Land. But this is also the most human city—with its dueling capacities for greed and generosity, dogmatism and enlightenment—that you will ever see. After struggling to untangle Jerusalem, don’t be surprised if you get depressed when you have to pack up and go sunbathe in Tel Aviv.
Flights: Ben-Gurion Airport ( TLV; info for all airlines ☎ 03 972 3344. El Al English info tel 972 3388. Automated flight reconfirmation 972 2333; www.iaa.gov.il/Rashat/en-US/Airports/BenGurion), ...more
Jerusalem can be a difficult city to navigate. This is particularly true of the Old City, a compact labyrinth of crooked cobbled streets where you should expect to be lost most of the time. Haphazard alleyways ...more
Buses: Most distances in Jerusalem are walkable and all sections are easily reachable by bus from the Central Bus Station, 224 Jaffa Rd., west of the city center, just past the Mahane Yehuda district. ...more
Police: ☎ 100. Ambulance: ☎ 101. Fire: ☎ 102. Tourist Police: ☎ 03 516 5382. Hospital or Medical Services: Terem Emergency Medical Centers: Branches in Jerusalem ...more
In terms of food, accommodations, shopping, and other dimensions of Jerusalem to explore, the very general guideline to follow is this: the Old City has the cheapest and funkiest, West Jerusalem is more ...more
Food in Jerusalem somewhat complicates the guidelines for the city laid out in the Accommodations section (to recap: the Old City is cheap and funky, West Jerusalem has higher quality and higher prices ...more
The hands down main attraction in Jerusalem is, of course, the Old City, which houses three foundationary sites of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam respectively. For those of you who were not raised ...more
Israel Museum. The Israel Museum is the largest and most comprehensive museum in Israel. With extensive collections of antiquities, sculptures, ancient and modern art, books, the legendary Dead Sea ...more
Budget shopping in the souq and shuk can be fun for those who keep their wits about them. Often the deal of the century can be found after relentless comparison shopping or by bargaining until blue in ...more
If observing the daily awkward interactions between Orthodox Jews who believe God told them to come here, Palestinian Arabs who believe they are under military occupation, and American tourists who believe ...more
If you ask a Jerusalem native where the best clubs are, they’ll make a face and tell you that there aren’t any clubs, urge you with a “Dear God” not go to them, or insist that everyone goes to ...more
Bus 185 (20min., NIS8.10) from the International Convention Center. To get to the International Convention Center, go to the Central Bus Station and cross the street. Walk past the orange and blue circular ...more
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For 52 years, we have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.
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