Jerusalem, Israel

What to expect in... Jerusalem

16. Colorful accessories
There's so many cool things to buy in the Old City's maze of shops.
Expect to see a lot of carpets, scarves, and jewelry.

15. Shawarma
A delicious lamb sandwich in a pita.
You also have the choice to eat amazing pitas and hummus all day.



14. The Dead Sea
You can't sink in this water! Don't get any of the salt in your eyes or mouth or you'll be sorry!

13. A church for every occasion

The Christians build churches to honor any line in the Bible. For example, this church is shaped like a tear drop to commemorate the line, "Jesus wept."

12. Yad Vashem

The holocaust museum is depressing, but well worth the visit.

11. A Wall

This wall is controversial because it divides a Palestinian community.

10. Everything being surprisingly close

All the touristy things are jam-packed together because they're inside the boundary of an ancient city (ancient cities are tiny compared to modern cities.) You can't bus between sites so you'll spend a lot of time on your feet.

9. Cross-bearing
Christians carry crosses through the city to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Interesting fact - Here you'll run into ancient Christian churches that were formed much earlier than the Catholic Church.

8. Jewish celebrations
Jews know how to throw a party!
The wedding parties parade through the streets with drummers.

7. The Call to Prayer

5 times a day, the Muslims fill the city with their prayers over the loudspeakers. I think it's pretty cool.

6. "My friend!"
The shopkeepers will put out all the stops to lure you into their shops and guilt trip you into buying stuff.

5. International love
Every time you turn around you'll hear a different language because there's tourists from all over the world.

4. Quarters

There's 4 sections to the old city - the Jewish Quarter, Christian Quarter, Muslim Quarter, and Armenian Quarter. (I don't know how the Armenians got an entire quarter to themselves.)
As for the rest of the city, the east part is in the Palestinian West Bank territory, and the west part is in Israel.

3. Guns
Israeli soldiers walk around the streets with big guns. Security is very tight in Jerusalem and throughout the country because the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is fragile.

2. Biblical sites (that aren't there)
Pretty much all biblical sites are long gone. The modern city is several feet higher than the ancient city, a result of centuries of building upon the ruins of old buildings.

1. The Temple Mount
At the Temple Mount, the holy places of Jews, Muslims, and Christians are literally on top of each other. Pretty inconvenient.

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