Jerusalem

Jerusalem

Jerusalem, Israel is holy to three great religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. It is one of the oldest cities in the world, dating back to 3000 BC, over 2000 years before Roman times.

-In Islam, Jerusalem is where Mohammed ascended into heaven in the 600s AD
-In Judaism, Jerusalem was the capital of the Jewish kingdom since 1000 BC.
-In Christianity, Jerusalem is a place where Jesus lived and also where he died, was resurrected and ascended into heaven.

Jerusalem is "contested space" in Geography, meaning that multiple groups claim it as theirs to govern. Both Jews and Muslims claim to have rights to govern Jerusalem and the city actually was split into two halves, Jewish and Muslim, until boundaries were redrawn after the 1967 war between Israel and its neighbors.

Four quarters of the Old City The Old City of Jerusalem has four quarters: Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Armenian. Each quarter contains many holy sites including those of other religions ex. Christian holy sites in the Muslim quarter and vice-versa. Take a look at the map below of the four quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem.

This video shows a tour of the Islamic quarter. See if you can spot some of the mix of Christian and Islamic elements found in the Islamic quarter.

Islamic market in Jerusalem's Old City - ITravel Jerusalem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4Kj5xl8A_8



Jerusalem was often placed at the center of the world on medieval maps. Jerusalem also changed hands between Muslims and Christians many times during the Crusades, and thousands of Christians traveled to Jerusalem to fight Muslims there. Many Crusaders never made it to Jerusalem, having other adventures and wars along the way.
Clover leaf map, 1581, Heinrich Bunting