Wednesday, July 1, 2009

JEWISH QUARTER, JERUSALEM

One among the four traditional quarters of Jerusalem Old City, the other three being Christian, Muslim and Armenian Quarters. The 15 acre Jewish Quarter is the most advanced, cleanliest and modern among the four. However, there are some very interesting archaeological discoveries from the area some dating from First Jerusalem Temple period (1000 BC to 586 BC). Obviously, the most famous monument in the quarter is the Western Wall from the Second Temple Period (1st Cent AD). Most of them have been appended with my earlier blog entries.

Just a brief history...The Jewish Quarter had continuous Jewish presence since 8th Cent BC. During 1944-1967, the region became under the Jordanian rule and many of its landmarks were brutally destroyed. A third of the Jewish Quarter's buildings were demolished; the Western Wall, became a garbage dump and Jewish tombstones were used as paving stones. Only after 1967, when Israel conquered the East Jerusalem-the Jewish Quarter was rebuilt and transformed to the present state.

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