Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, besieged more than twenty times and captured and recaptured over forty. Its Old City, enclosed by walls built by Suleiman the Magnificent in the 1530s, covers 0.9 square kilometres and is divided into Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Armenian quarters. Its status is contested and no consensus exists in international law about sovereignty over the eastern part.
The Western Wall
The retaining wall of the Second Temple platform, the closest accessible point to the site of the Holy of Holies, and the most significant place of Jewish prayer. The plaza is open at all hours and is divided into men and women sections. Notes are pushed into the cracks and cleared twice a year. The Western Wall Tunnels, booked separately, follow the wall northwards underground for several hundred metres.
The Temple Mount
Above, the Haram al-Sharif holds the Dome of the Rock, built in 691 and the oldest surviving Islamic monument, and al-Aqsa Mosque. Non-Muslims may enter the compound at restricted hours through the Mughrabi Bridge only, may not enter the buildings, and may not pray. Security is heavy and the rules change without notice.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Built over the sites identified since the fourth century as Golgotha and the tomb, and shared uneasily by six denominations under a status quo agreement from 1757 that is so rigid a ladder has stood unmoved on a facade ledge since the eighteenth century. The keys are held by two Muslim families, an arrangement dating from Saladin.
Beyond the walls
Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial, is essential and takes half a day; the Hall of Names and the children memorial are the parts people remember. The Israel Museum holds the Dead Sea Scrolls in the Shrine of the Book and a model of the city as it was in 66 CE. The Mount of Olives gives the classic view over the Old City. Mahane Yehuda market is the place to eat, and turns into a bar district after dark.
Shabbat
From Friday afternoon to Saturday nightfall, most of west Jerusalem closes: no public transport, most restaurants and shops shut. East Jerusalem and the Old City continue, and Friday is the Muslim day of prayer with its own closures. Plan the week around this rather than being caught by it.
Two cities
Beyond the walls, west Jerusalem is Israeli and east Jerusalem is Palestinian, and the difference in street life, signage and municipal services is immediate. Both are reached on the light rail, which runs through the middle. Understanding that the city is claimed as a capital by two national movements is the single most useful piece of context a visitor can carry.