Going to Jerusalem

What to do in Jerusalem

by Evelyn Spence

Jerusalem is the holiest city in the world—the center of the universe for three monotheistic religions. Its buildings shoulder 4,000 years of history, tugs-of-war, prostitutes, martyrs, and—most of all—never-ending and passionate conflict. So it’s no surprise that this “City on a Hill” isn’t a footloose-and-fancy-free kind of place. There’s a muted reverence that permeates not just the Wailing Wall, the Dome of the Rock, and the Via Dolorosa, but also the Old City souk that serves fresh-squeezed pomegranate juice and the chichi apartment buildings rising up in the west. Such weightiness is both magical and intimidating in a surprisingly real, sometimes even secular, city with shopping malls, taxis, traffic, atheists, and artists. It’s hard to say whether the city is becoming more provincial or more cosmopolitan—but such is its beauty.

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