The Old City of Jerusalem holds the origin story of the three Abrahamic Faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. On this walking tour, you’ll get to know the rich history of the city that’s become sanctified in the eyes of over two billion followers worldwide. The tour starts at Jaffa Gate, one of the open gates in the Old City walls. From there, you’ll make your way to the Armenian Quarter via the Tower of David museum, where you’ll find out who built the tower (it’s not King David!). As you wander through the Jewish Quarter, you’ll learn about its redevelopment following the Six-Day War of 1967. You’ll see the Old Yishuv Court Museum and the Hurva Synagogue, and I’ll tell you how the Jews were expelled from the city, returning en masse two thousand years later. You’ll follow a long stretch of stairs down to the Western Wall, where you’ll learn about its importance in Judaism. You’ll see views of Temple Mount, a holy place of worship, where I’ll tell you about the religious overlap between Jews and Muslims. You’ll follow the footsteps of Jesus along the Way of Suffering (Via Dolorosa, in Latin) hearing about the Passion of Jesus until you reach the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Before circling back to the tour’s starting point, you’ll have an opportunity to shop at the Old City bazaar’s local market streets. On this 90-minute tour, you’ll have a chance to: • Find out the significance of tucking a note in between the stones of the Western Wall • Stop at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer • Glimpse the Golden Menorah that was looted from the Jewish Temple • Take in the multicultural atmosphere of the Old City’s Armenian, Jewish, Muslim and Christian Quarters • Meet historical legends like Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, Emperor Wilhelm the Second, and Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Zoref • Decipher thousand-year-old symbols, dating back to the time of the Crusades • See the archaeological site of the Cardo, the main street in Aelia Capitolina (as the city was called under Roman rule), and admire original artefacts from Jerusalem’s era of Roman rule • Stroll along the lively, food-filled Al-Wad Street on your way to the Austrian Hospice The Old City of Jerusalem is a compact cluster of alleyways and dense market streets that can be a challenge to navigate. With over three thousand years of history, it’s hard to know where to look. This tour is a powerful tool for discovering the city’s layered history and making sense of its overlapping sites. Complementing his collection of audio tours in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem’s much younger sister city, Tomer Chelouche created this Jerusalem tour with first-timers in mind. If this is your first visit to the ancient city and you want to get the gist of it, this one is for you!