The ancient city of Jerusalem annually receives an unrealistically large number of tourists from around the world. Being one of the centers of the Christian world, it offers guests not only the greatest world sights and cultural monuments, but also in every sense a great holiday. The spirit of the Middle East is felt here literally in everything, and in the best sense.
This city is one of the oldest on earth. It was founded about 6 thousand years ago. More than 3 thousand years ago, Jerusalem became the capital of the kingdom of Israel. Despite the fact that after the formation of Israel as an independent state, it was Jerusalem that took over the functions of the capital, most of the foreign embassies of this country are located in Tel Aviv. This city is a sacred place for representatives of three religions at once – Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
About 15 times fewer people live here than in Moscow. From 1948 to 1967 part of Jerusalem belonged to Jordan. The UN does not recognize the legitimacy of Israeli authority over the entire city, and therefore refuses to consider this city as the capital of the state. Jerusalem twice collapsed completely, and passed from hand to hand 44 times. About a third of the population of the Israeli capital are Muslim Arabs. The Old City, the oldest district of Jerusalem, is recognized as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage.
Here is the most expensive cemetery in the world. The burial site on it is worth millions of dollars. The unique Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem belongs immediately to six Christian denominations. Any changes in the temple must be approved unanimously. In honor of Jerusalem, many cities are named around the world. And the name of this city in Israel is sometimes called children. The flag of the city is inscribed in Hebrew.
In the local Botanical Garden grows about 10 thousand species of plants. Sometimes in winter snow falls here. True, it usually melts almost immediately. Some pilgrims visiting Jerusalem experience frustration, so that some of them even end up in a local psychiatric hospital. Such a disorder has even been called the “Jerusalem syndrome”. There are many Christian churches, synagogues and mosques. Despite the cultural and religious differences associated with the heterogeneous population, Jerusalem is a very calm and safe city.
