Jerusalem

Jerusalem occupies a rugged plateau in the Judaean Mountains, roughly midway between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. For millennia this city has stood at the crossroads of empire and faith, its limestone ramparts witnessing conquests and ceremonies alike. Despite the stark contours of its setting—encircled by the Kidron, Hinnom and Tyropoeon valleys—Jerusalem’s human imprint has extended far beyond its famed Old City walls, now emblematic of both enduring sanctity and political contention.

Archaeological evidence at the City of David suggests small seasonal encampments of shepherds as early as the fourth millennium BCE. By the late Bronze Age, Egyptian records name it Urusalim—likely “City of Shalem,” after a Canaanite deity—marking its emergence among regional polities. Around the tenth century BCE, local rulers, traditionally identified as King David and his son Solomon, transformed the hilltop town into the religious heart of the Kingdom of Judah. Solomon’s Temple, though later destroyed, conferred a symbolic weight that outlasted successive rebuildings and sackings.

Jerusalem endured siege, sacking or assault dozens of times—estimates count more than fifty attacks and more than forty shifts of control over subsequent centuries. In 1538 the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent completed the walls that still enfold the Old City. Four quarters—Armenian, Christian, Jewish and Muslim—took shape within these ramparts. By 1981 the site earned inscription on the World Heritage List, though it remains classed as endangered, its stones bearing the stress of seismic, human and political tremors.

For Jews, Jerusalem has anchored devotional life since the tenth century BCE. The Temple Mount, once crowned by Solomon’s son-built First Temple and later by Herod’s Second Temple, remains Judaism’s holiest locus. The Western Wall—a fragment of Herod’s enclosure—serves as the closest accessible site for prayer. Facing Jerusalem, all synagogues worldwide orient their Holy Arks toward this remnant, reinforcing an enduring spatial bond.

Christian attachment to Jerusalem grew from events described in the New Testament. Pilgrims revere the Church of the Holy Sepulchre—on the site traditionally linked to both the crucifixion and the empty tomb—as the preeminent Christian sanctuary. Mount Zion’s Cenacle, where tradition places the Last Supper, and surrounding relics further cement the city’s role in shaping Christian liturgy and art.

In Islam, Jerusalem holds third place after Mecca and Medina. Early Muslims directed prayer toward this city, and Islamic tradition chronicles Muhammad’s Night Journey from Mecca to the Temple Mount, from which he ascended heavenward. The Dome of the Rock, completed in the late seventh century, and the adjacent al-Aqsa Mosque occupy the sacred compound, marking a spiritual bond that extends across the Muslim world.

Jerusalem’s modern status reflects its layered past. The 1947 UN Partition Plan had proposed a neutral international zone, yet the 1948 war divided the city: West Jerusalem passed to Israel, East Jerusalem—including the Old City—to Jordan. In 1967 Israel captured East Jerusalem and later annexed it under municipal jurisdiction, a move declared illegal by most of the world. Israel’s 1980 Basic Law proclaims the city “complete and united,” hosting the Knesset, the Supreme Court and the official residences of the president and prime minister. Palestinians likewise envision East Jerusalem as their future capital. Neither claim secures broad international recognition, making the city a fulcrum of Israeli–Palestinian diplomacy and discord.

Since the nineteenth century, development has spilled beyond the Old City’s 0.9 km². Suburbs, commercial boulevards and residential neighborhoods now encompass nearly one million inhabitants. As of 2022, about 60 percent identified as Jewish and 40 percent as Palestinian (Muslim and Christian combined). Inside the Old City, narrow lanes still divide its four historic quarters; beyond them, new districts attest to rapid growth and enduring divisions.

Perched at roughly 760 m above sea level, Jerusalem’s plateaus and hills—Mount of Olives to the east, Mount Scopus to the northeast—have long defined its fortifications and vistas. The Kidron Valley sweeps eastward, while the Hinnom ravine on the south bears biblical associations of judgment. The Tyropoeon Valley, once bisecting the medieval core, is now buried beneath layers of debris.

Water has perennially posed a challenge. Ancient engineers carved aqueducts, tunnels and cisterns to capture scarce rainfall. Today, a semi-arid Mediterranean climate prevails: hot, dry summers average near 24 °C in July and August, while winters bring mild temperatures around 9 °C in January and most of the city’s annual precipitation of 537 mm between October and May. Snow flurries are rare; once every several years a heavier storm leaves transient drifts.

Jerusalem’s population mosaic has shifted repeatedly. Since the end of the Crusades, Muslims predominated until the late nineteenth century, when Jewish immigration and natural increase reversed the balance. Early twentieth-century estimates vary, but by the mid-decade period Jews constituted a majority. Post-1948 border lines again disrupted communal patterns, and today Israelis and Palestinians inhabit largely separate neighborhoods—though movements of people and goods blur these lines in practice.

In addition to a majority Jewish population, significant Muslim and smaller Christian communities enrich linguistic, culinary and cultural life. Ultra-Orthodox (“Haredi”) quarters, mostly in western sectors, lend a solemn character to local commerce and rhythms of daily living. In East Jerusalem, newer settlements built since 1967 house nearly 200,000 Jewish residents alongside longstanding Arab neighborhoods.

Jerusalem’s economy once depended almost entirely on pilgrims, drawn by its sacred sites. With statehood, the Israeli government became a leading employer, anchoring thousands of public-sector jobs and incentivizing private ventures. Although Tel Aviv remains the country’s financial hub, a growing high-tech cluster—anchored by Research and Development centers at Har Hotzvim and the Jerusalem Technology Park—offers another dimension, employing multinational firms from Intel to Teva.

The cityscape has long favored low-rise architecture. Yet recent urban plans envisage corridors of skyscrapers along Jaffa Road and King George Street, including a proposed 65-story tower. A complex of twelve high-rises near the Central Bus Station will integrate offices, hotels, retail and transit, linked by bridges and tunnels to a new express rail line toward Tel Aviv. Plans for cultural and judicial complexes further signal ambitions to revitalize downtown.

Jerusalem’s transport network knits together its ancient core and sprawling suburbs. The Jerusalem Central Bus Station, one of Israel’s busiest, dispatches Egged, Dan and Superbus routes across the region. The light rail, launched in 2011, now serves twenty-three stops from Pisgat Ze’ev through the city center to Mount Herzl, moving up to 200,000 passengers daily. A high-speed rail link to Tel Aviv, completed in 2019, terminates at the subterranean Navon station adjacent to the International Convention Centre.

Major roadways include the Begin Expressway on the western flank and Route 60 threading near the Green Line. A partially built 35 km ring road promises faster suburban access but has stirred debate over land use and community impact. Jerusalem’s old Atarot Airport ceased operations in 2000; proposals for a joint Israeli–Palestinian airfield in the Jordan Valley, separate Israeli and Palestinian terminals at a redeveloped Atarot site, and improved rail links keep aviation on the municipal agenda.

Jerusalem’s identity extends well beyond religious pilgrimage. The Israel Museum, with nearly one million annual visitors, houses archaeological treasures and the Dead Sea Scrolls in its Shrine of the Book. Nearby, the Bible Lands Museum and Israel Antiquities Authority anchor academic and public engagement. The Ticho House and Rockefeller Museum recall earlier eras of scholarly discovery.

Performing arts thrive at venues such as the Jerusalem Theatre, the Khan Theatre, and the Cinematheque, while annual events—the Israel Festival, the Jerusalem Film Festival, street theater in the Old City—invigorate public spaces. The national cemetery on Mount Herzl anchors memorial culture, and Yad Vashem’s Holocaust museum presents a solemn testament to history alongside scholarly resources.

Palestinian cultural institutions coexist alongside Israeli ones. The Palestinian National Theatre and Riwaq preservation projects foster Arab heritage, while Yabous Cultural Center, Al-Hoash gallery and the Edward Said Conservatory stimulate intercultural dialogue. Joint initiatives—like the Abraham Fund’s arts programs—seek to bridge societal divides, even as political realities remain fraught.

Jerusalem’s contemporary map blends the ancient and the modern. The walled Old City, just one square kilometer, encloses the four historic quarters and its trifecta of holy sites: the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and al-Aqsa compound. East Jerusalem’s broader municipal area includes both religious precincts and residential suburbs, home to Muslims, Christians and post-1967 Jewish neighbourhoods. West Jerusalem, built since 1948, functions as Israel’s civic and commercial heart. Haredi enclaves punctuate the western sectors with their distinctive pace of life. Outside the urban core, Ein Kerem retains the feeling of a hillside village, its churches and galleries set among terraced olive groves.

Jerusalem resists simple characterization. Its limestone streets echo with psalms, sermons and mounting civic debates. Its skyline juxtaposes domes, minarets and new high-rises. It remains a living palimpsest: sacred to many, contested by some, yet inhabited by all who navigate its profound junction of history, faith and modernity. In every stone and story, Jerusalem reveals both deep continuities and the pressures of change—an enduring testament to human aspiration and complexity.