June 06, 2022

Thirteen fun facts you may not know about Jerusalem

Jerusalem, the holiest city in the world. The oldest settlements in Jerusalem date back to the 5th millennium BC. C. and is one of the oldest cities in the world. Jerusalem has deep religious significance for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Jerusalem was inhabited by the Jebusites before the arrival of the Hebrew tribes in Canaan in the early 13th century BCE. C. Historically, and according to tradition, it was the ancient capital of the unified Kingdom of Israel and centuries later of the Frankish kingdom of Jerusalem

According to a Jewish tradition, Jerusalem was founded by Shem and Eber, ancestors of Abraham. According to the Biblical account, Melchizedek (righteous king) was the king of Salem, priest of God, and he presented bread and wine to Abraham, who was a nomadic Aramaic and blessed him and Abraham in turn gave him a tithe; Salem is identified with Jerusalem.

According to tradition, around the year 1004 a. C. King David of Israel conquered Jerusalem by means of a contingent sent through an underground spring, and made it the capital of his kingdom. David renamed it Ir David “City of David”.

His son Solomon extended the city, enlarging the walls and building in a few years the Temple of Jerusalem, destined to contain the Ark of the Covenant.

Throughout the centuries it was conquered and reconquered by different empires and it was not until 1967 that it was reunified and turned into the capital of the State of Israel.

It has some information that you probably did not know, but it will surprise you.

1. The old city has more than 2,000 important archaeological sites.
2. The Old City is home to the Hamaaravi Kotel (Western Wall), the Temple Mount, the Golden Dome, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Hurva Synagogue and the Via Dolorosa, among other holy places for the monotheistic religions.
3. The First Temple in the Old City was built by 150,000 Jewish workers and supervised by 3,300 men.
4. It currently has about one million inhabitants.
5. Jerusalem has more than 70 cultural centers that teach arts, music, poetry, literature, and drama.
6. The Jewish Quarter is inhabited by around 2,000 inhabitants and is home to numerous synagogues and eshivot, notably the Hurva Synagogue. After being built in 1701, destroyed, rebuilt in 1864, and destroyed in 1948, the Hurva Synagogue was rebuilt once more, reopening again in 2010.
7. In the days of Abraham, Jerusalem was called Shalem.
8. The length of the wall surrounding the old city is 4 kilometers.
9. A lion is the emblem of the city of Jerusalem.
10. Throughout history, Jews have wanted to be buried on the Mount of Olives. It is estimated that there are around 150,000 tombs dating back several centuries.
11. The holiest and most important Jewish site is the Western Wall, the surviving part of the retaining wall around the Temple in Jerusalem. The part that we see is only a small portion of what remains of the wall, the rest is covered by constructions.
12. In 1918 the Hebrew University of Jerusalem was established by Jewish intellectuals, including Sigmund Freud and Albert Einstein. Several researchers from that University have won Nobel Prizes.
13. The Old City of Jerusalem was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1981.

It is a unique and magical place! Whoever can get there will live one of the most interesting experiences of his life. Do not miss it!!!

Author: Raúl Voskoboinik