Russian Church and Tower of the Ascension, Jerusalem

Advantages: Amazing, beautiful
Disadvantages: Dangerous

...Jerusalem is the kind of city it is impossible to visit 'blind'. Everyone knows her glancingly. Her name invokes impressions, differing impressions, in people across the globe, and her role in Western Civilisations cannot be underplayed. I was fortunate enough, and I do use 'fortunate' guardedly, to have spent a few months working in Jerusalem a few years back. The city I often now see on my television screen isn't always the happy, hearty, lively Jerusalem I remember, a city probably with more spirit than I have even felt from a city, but sometimes it is exactly the Jerusalem I remember, the fear, the hate and the entrenched beliefs. Jerusalem is a divided city. Jerusalem has been a divided city for hundreds of years, centuries even. Palestinian East Jerusalem as distinct from Israeli West Jerusalem, The Old City as distinct from... Read review

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Advantages: Beautiful City, plenty to do, lots of history.
Disadvantages: Watch out for dodgy dealers. A lot of 'friction' in Israel.

...I was in Jerusalem for three weeks in July whilst teaching English to children as a volunteer. I didn't really know what to expect although I made sure I read some of the history before I went. The city is basically split into two parts, the Old City and the New City. In the Old City are most of the famous religious buildings, such as the Wailing Wall, The Dome of the Rock, The Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Via Delarosa. It takes a good day to look round, and during this day you will be hassled by thousands of market traders who all sell exactly the same things (barter with them though and you get some pretty cheap gifts). Don't let this put you off though, the sites there are pretty amazing and very interesting. But watch out for pickpockets and also dodgy guys who walk around changing travellers cheques etc. and generally... Read review

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Advantages: Ancient and vibrant, a city that lives simultaneously in and beyond time
Disadvantages: Prone to acts of war and other forms of madness

..., particularly for Jerusalem, the past lives in the present. Clearly, on any visit to Jerusalem, the past--with its focus on conflict and the city's preeminence for three of the world's great religions--is never far away. At an archeological site overlooking the Kidron and Hinnom valleys, one can actually visit the City of David, the capital of ancient Israel. Remnants of Roman market stalls are still visible in the Old City. Prophets and martyrs are buried in the Kidron Valley. Pilgrims follow in the footsteps of Jesus on the Via Dolorosa, pray at the Kotel (the Wailing Wall), or gaze at the continuing splendor of the Dome of the Rock. More recent international interest and influence in Jerusalem are reflected in many of the city's place names. For example, visitors can wander through the German Colony or the Russian Compound. International... Read review

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