The capital of Israel: history and modernity

Israel is a country located in the Middle East between the two seas: the Mediterranean and the Red. Officially, this state is considered Jewish, but in fact it is a multinational democratic state. Israel is a country that every person, probably, would like to visit.

Jerusalem is the ancient capital of Israel. According to some data, this city is three thousand years old, on the other - seven thousand. Over its centuries-old history, the city has replaced more than seventy names. It is not just the capital of Israel, but also the capital of three religions - Christianity, Judaism and Islam. There is no more city on earth where synagogues, mosques and churches dominate. This holy city is called Golden Jerusalem and the city of the World. They say that in this place time and eternity unite, but in order to feel and be convinced of this, you need to visit at least once.

Every year, millions of tourists and pilgrims from all over the world come to this mysterious and sacred place. In Jerusalem, just a huge number of historical monuments of different cultures and peoples, it is simply impossible to get acquainted with at one time. Therefore, after visiting here one day, many people come here again.
The narrow and winding streets of Jerusalem are constantly filled with crowds of tourists, through which sometimes it is difficult to break through. For tourists there are a lot of hotels, bars, restaurants, various places of recreation and entertainment. You can get acquainted with the culture and history of the country by visiting unique museums and art galleries.

Pilgrims seek here to worship the holy places. For Muslims it is the Mosque of Omar in Jerusalem or the Golden Dome over the Rock, the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the graves of the Prophets of Moussa and Daoud, as well as the place where the Prophet Mohammed ascended. For the Jews, the Kotel is the shrine - that's all that remains of the two Jerusalem Temples. Three times a year, the Jews come here to pray and to put in between the stones the notes addressed to God. For Christians, holy places are associated with the name of Christ, for example, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Way of the Cross and the Mount of Olives. Not far from Jerusalem is the city of Bethlehem, where Jesus was born.

Now Jerusalem is the largest modern city in Israel. Here is the presidential residence, the parliament and the office of the prime minister. Jerusalem is the official capital of Israel, recognized by the state, the US and several Latin American countries. But most of the international community does not recognize this fact and according to the UN resolution the capital of Israel is Tel Aviv. It is here, in the second largest city, that all foreign embassies, the largest banks and representative offices of the country's leading companies are located. We can say that Tel Aviv is the business center or economic capital of Israel.

The historical part of Jerusalem is called the Old Town and is surrounded by a 12-meter fortress wall, more than two meters thick. The old city is divided into four parts: Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Armenian.

The city is led by eight gates, which have survived until now. The most beautiful of them are the Damascus Gate decorated with rich ornaments. The lion's gate is known for the fact that behind them stretches the Sorrowful Path, according to which, as the biblical traditions say, Christ went to Golgotha. Gilded gates are a monument of a new era. According to tradition, it was through them that Christ entered the city after the resurrection. And not far from the Wailing Wall are the Dung Gate, through which garbage was once transported. They are so narrow that through them a man with a donkey can hardly walk. Now at these gates there is a tour desk.

In the Old City is the holy mountain of Moria, on which stands the mosque of Caliph Omar. This amazing octagonal turquoise building is crowned by a huge golden dome, so the mosque is often called the Dome of the Rock. According to Judaic traditions, the stone that is located on the top of Mount Moria is considered the place of creation of the World. The Mosque of Omar in Jerusalem is the most ancient Muslim building in the world and rightly called the Miracle of Islam.

Tel Aviv, recognized as the world's capital by the world, is not as famous as Jerusalem, and not as famous as this famous city with centuries of history.