There’s no place for monotheists like Jerusalem.
For Christians, there is the place where Jesus Christ lived his last and most exciting minutes on Earth. The place where he died became the Holy Sepulcher, officially the first Christian church in the world. For Jewish, there is the Temple Mount, considered the shortest way between God and humans; that’s why the Western Wall (remaining part of this temple) is a Jewish symbol. Also they believe that the real Messiah will arrive in Jerusalem. For Muslims, there is the place where the Prophet Mohamed ascended to meet Allah and after that, started to represent Allah on Earth. The Golden Mosque is the place where this meeting between God and the Prophet happened.
Faith expressions are common in Jerusalem. They have their problems, true. When religion is involved, problems are natural. But this blog is about travel and I don’t want to talk about it. If you have interest to learn more about these kind of conflicts, I would like to recommend a book called Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths by Karen Armstrong.
As in the entire Palestine, in Jerusalem, there’s a big fight for power and possession, looks like things can get really bad anytime. From another hand, is a safe and relaxing city. What I know about Middle East is very similar, paradox everywhere.
If you don’t care about religion or history, go for the food. The city is on my Top 5 ranking when the topic is gastronomy. The restaurants I’ve been visited were a great and delicious surprise. And please, don’t forget to try the olive oil there.
As usual, the best part are people. I love to visit places full of stereotypes just to remember that we can’t put everybody in the same box. Doesn’t matter if the person is Jewish, Muslim, Armenian or Christian, people in Jerusalem are amazing!
That’s it for now. Someday I’m going to write about Tel Aviv, another amazing place 😉
Have you ever been in Jerusalem? Share your impressions with me. I’d love to know.
xoxo