LA VIEILLE VILLE

Sheltered behind its legendary ramparts, the Old City, virtually unchanged since Ottoman times, is Jerusalem's historic center. It is home to the major religious sites of the three monotheistic religions. It is divided into four quarters (Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Armenian), with often invisible borders and linked by a maze of alleyways. In terms of contemporary geopolitics, the Old City is part of the territories occupied by Israel since 1967, and therefore not recognized as Israeli by the international community. You are therefore technically on Palestinian territory, under Israeli occupation.

The Jewish Quarter is located to the south-east of the Old City. It is bounded by Habad Street to the west and Bab es-Silsila to the north. For many historians and archaeologists, this quarter was part of the City of David, the first Jewish Jerusalem in the ^10th century BC. After the dark periods of destruction, exile and Roman and Byzantine domination, this area became the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem during the Arab conquest in the ^7th century AD. Its appearance today, resolutely modern even though it respects the historic street layout, is very different from the rest of old Jerusalem, as it was almost entirely destroyed during the 1948 War of Independence. During the occupation by the Jordanian army, most of the synagogues fell into ruin or were razed to the ground. It was only after the Six-Day War, in 1967, that the streets and houses were rebuilt and restored. The choice adopted by the town-planning authorities was to rebuild the buildings respecting the layout of the alleys, but introducing contemporary architecture. The harmonious ensemble is quite successful in its genre, and includes major archaeological sites such as the Cardo. The Kotel (the Wailing Wall) is included within its perimeter. The Jewish Quarter can be reached via the Immondices Gate, which leads directly to the Wailing Wall, via the Jaffa Gate down David Street, or via the Damascus Gate on Al-Wad Road.

The Muslim Quarter lies to the northeast of the Old City. With its large, colorful and noisy souk, it is the most populous and undoubtedly liveliest part of the Old City. Predominantly populated by Arabs, people here live in defiance (more or less visible, depending on the period) of the Hebrew state. Several fine buildings from the Mamluk period (1250-1517) are concentrated mainly around Al-Wad Road. Just above the Kotel (Wailing Wall), the Temple Mount is home to the Esplanade of the Mosques, which Muslims call Haram el-Shérif (Noble Sanctuary). This was the site of the First and Second Temples, and is today one of the holiest sites in the Muslim religion (^3rd holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina). Access to the interior of the dome and the mosque is forbidden to non-Muslims. For non-Muslims, access to the Esplanade of the Mosques can only be gained through the Gate of Filth (or Mughrabi Gate), immediately to the right of the Kotel. The Muslim authorities decide on freedom of access to the Temple Mount. Access is cut off during periods of tension between communities. The main entrances to the Muslim Quarter are the Damascus, Herod and Lions Gates.

The Christian Quarter, inhabited mainly by Christian Arabs, is located to the northwest of the city. It is a district dedicated to Christian buildings: churches, convents, seminaries, etc., where most of the world's denominations are represented (Orthodox from different patriarchates, Catholics from different orders and different countries, Protestants of all denominations, Maronites, Nestorians, Ethiopians, Copts, etc.). Apart from the buildings and properties of the various Christian churches, the district is a gigantic souk where stalls run mainly by Christian Arabs sell every conceivable religious artifact. The district stretches around the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Christianity's principal Holy Place. Most visitors get there by taking the Via Dolorosa, the path followed by Christ carrying his cross. Access to the Christian Quarter is via the New Gate or the Jaffa Gate.

The Armenian Quarter. The Armenians are the only autocephalous Christian church to have succeeded in establishing their own quarter in Jerusalem. Located in the south-west of the Old City, between the Christian Quarter to the north and the Jewish Quarter to the east, the small Armenian Quarter, mainly covered by Armenian religious institutions, is nestled within the precincts of the Armenian Apostolic Patriarchate of Jerusalem, on the site of the St. James Convent. This quiet, residential area is seldom visited by tourists. Yet it is home to a number of historic buildings, including the ^13th-century Armenian Orthodox Cathedral of St. James and the Armenian Church of the Holy Exchanges, as well as the Gulbenkian Library, which houses over 100,000 books, some of them centuries old. The Armenian Quarter is the quickest route between the Jewish quarters of the New Town and the Jewish quarter of the Old Town. On Shabbat days, religious Jews flock here to pray at the Kotel, avoiding the Arab, Christian and Muslim quarters.