"Spirtual Battery of th' ..." a Jerusalem Travel Page by WorldMeet2008

Official city website for tourists:
http://www.jerusalem.muni.il/jer_main/defaultnew.asp?lng=2

Jerusalem Under Snow - check here

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Jerusalem is Focal Point of Judaism and Christianity, also considered holy by Islam.

By whichever route you approach Jerusalem, you are retracing the steps of pilgrims who have been making this journey for thousands of years.

In modern-day Jerusalem, the rich historical heritage of the holy city is interwoven with the vibrant tempo of Israel's contemporary capital.

Nowhere are the contrasts in Israel more apparent than in Jerusalem. The walls of the Old City and the malls of the New City. Roman Arches, Byzantine moats, Crusader walls and Ottoman ramparts. Jerusalem is one big colourful mosaic. It contains shrines that are holy to Jews, Christians and Moslems:
the Western Wall, the Via Dolorosa, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the glistening domes of the mosques on the Temple Mount, and the Shrine of the Book that house the 2,000-year old Dead Sea Scrolls; The Chagall Windows at the Hadassah Medical Center and the somber Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial; Architectural gems like the Knesset and Supreme Court Building, and even a windmill.

The New Testament tells the story of Jesus' frequent visits to Jerusalem, including the final fateful week commencing with the triumphal entry on what is now Palm Sunday, and the crucifixion and resurrection at what is now Easter.

It was here in Jerusalem that Jesus and the Disciples celebrated the Passover Seder meal atop Mount Zion (the Last Supper). Here in Gethsemane, at the base of Mount of Olives, Jesus spent the night before his arrest by the Romans. Jesus was tried in Jerusalem by Pontius Pilate and condemned to die on the cross, the standard form of Roman execution. And here Jesus was crucified and hurriedly buried before the onset of the Sabbath. When the family of Jesus returned to the tomb after the Sabbath, they discovered it empty....and it was 39 days later, from atop Jerusalem's Mount of Olives, that Jesus is believed to have risen to heaven.

In addition to locations related to the life of Jesus, holy sites in Jerusalem are connected with the lives of Mary and the Disciples. It was in Jerusalem that the world's first Christian community was established.

"Jewish tradition teaches that the Temple
Mount is the focal point of Creation.
In the center of the mountain lies the
"Foundation Stone" of the world.
Here Adam came into being.
Here Abraham, Isaac and Jacob served God.
The First and Second Temples were built
upon this mountain.
The Ark of the Covenant was set upon the
Foundation Stone itself.
Jerusalem was chosen by God as the dwelling
place of the Shechinah.
David longed to build the Temple, and
Solomon his son built the First Temple here
about 3000 years ago.
It was destroyed by Nevuchadnezzar
of Babylon.
The Second Temple was rebuilt on its ruins
seventy years later.
It was razed by the Roman legions over
1900 years ago.
The present Western Wall before you is a
remnant of the western Temple Mount
retaining walls.
Jews have prayed in its shadow for
hundreds of years, an expression of their
faith in the rebuilding of the Temple.
The Sages said about it: "The Divine Presence
never moves from the Western Wall."
The Temple Mount continues to be the focus
of prayer for Jews from all over the world."