Jerusalem Israel Essay, Research Paper
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is located in the heart of Israel and is divided into three
sections: the Old City, New City (West Jerusalem), and East Jerusalem. In
the center is the Old City which is split up into four main sections:
Muslim Quarter, Jewish Quarter, Christian Quarter, and the Armenian
Quarter. Also, the Old City is the site of many religious and historical
landmarks.
Within Jewish Quarters, the main attraction is the Western (Wailing)
Wall Wall”). It’s dubbed the “Wailing Wall” because many Jews come to pray
there, and their prayers sound like wailing. The Wall is the small
remaining part of King Solomon’s Temple. After the Jews were banished from
Temple Mount, the Western Wall became the most sacred place of Judaism.
There are two major sects of Jews in this part of the city. There is the
Sephardic group, who come from Spain, Africa, and the Mediterranean, and
there is the Ashkenazic group, who com
Another section of the Old City is the Christian Quarter. The center
of this part of the city is The Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It is
believed that the Via Dolorosa, a street, was the site of the original
Stations of the Cross. Furthermore, it is maintained that Jesus was
originally buried at this site. The Church was rebuilt by Crusaders in 1099
CE, but it was originally built in the fourth century.
The St. James Cathedral is the center of attention in the Armenian
part. Many families who escaped the Armenian Holocaust in 1915 settled in
the Old City. Many of the residents of this part of the Armenian Quarter
practice the Greek Orthodox religion.
The last section of the city is the Muslim Section. Atop the Temple
Mount are the gold-domed Dome of the Rock (661 BCE) and the silver-domed
al-Aqsa mosques. The Rock referred to in Dome of the Rock is Mt.Zion. This
is where Abram went to sacrifice Isaac and Muhammed ascended to heaven.