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Tour the Jewish Quarter, and gain access to three of our unique sites. Your choice of three from: The Burnt House, the Davidson Center, the Hurva Synagogue, and the Plugat HaKotel House.
Although it resides in a city full of many significant buildings, the “Hurva” Synagogue has a special place in the hearts of the residents of Jerusalem. The Synagogue is not just a beautiful building, nor just a place of worship–it has become a symbol for Ashkenazi Jewish existence and prosperity in the holy city. Formally known as the “Beit Yaakov” Synagogue, it was originally completed in 1864. Surrounding it were some of the Ashkenazi community of Jerusalem’s most important institutions: Yeshivat Etz Chaim and other places of Torah study, the Beit Din (Jewish court), and places of charity. Here the community thrived, until it was expelled from the Old City by the Jordanians in 1948. Even before 1864, Jews lived in the area for thousands of years. Come learn about the thousands of years of Jewish history built into the walls of the Synagogue, and climb to the roof to see one of the most incredible views there is of the old city and the surrounding areas.
Journey back to the days of Jerusalem’s glory, when its centerpiece, the holy Second Temple, drew visitors from across the globe. Stand under the remains of Robinson’s Arch, the oldest interchange in the world, visit the remains of shops that stood on the side of the road leading up to the Temple, and witness the purification mikvahs (baths) that were used by pilgrims on their way up to the Temple. During the journey, you will have the opportunity to walk on King Herod’s magnificent stairs that once led up to the temple plaza, to explore the impressive Byzantine house that still stands in its entirety, and to view the remains of the Umayyad (early Muslim) palaces that stood in all their glory a few hundred years later. Plus, walk on the Ottoman wall that surrounds and overlooks the entire area. Also enjoy our beautiful, newly renovated museum showcasing unique artifacts, and full of interactive videos and games.
In 1967, the State of Israel began huge archeological excavations in the Jewish Quarter, which had never been excavated before. The archeologists had no idea what they would find, but the artifacts and ruins that they uncovered are amongst some of the most important and exciting ever found; remains of Jerusalem throughout the last 3,000.
During the Second Temple period, Jerusalem was built on two neighboring hills, Mount Zion and Mount Moriah. On Mount Zion, the Western Hill, where the Old City now stands, the aristocratic houses were built. The wealthy class, made up mostly of priests, lived there.
The Burnt House is a nickname for one of the homes of a wealthy Jerusalemite priest from the Second Temple period. Come see incredible archeological finds, and watch a 25 min video about the site–a fascinating and moving testimony of the events that preceded the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE.
(Viewer discretion required–while the archeology is good for everyone, some younger viewers may find our 25 min video a little frightening).
“Whoever rules the Old City will rule the whole country” (diary of Uri Zvi Greenberg, the Western Wall Brigade).
With the start of the 1920’s, the Muslims and the British began to make it difficult, and even dangerous, for the Jews of the Old City to go about their daily life and practice Jewish tradition. A group of young Zionists from the Betar movement decided to establish a defense group for the residents of the Jewish Quarter and the Old City.
Who were these brave souls who risked their lives to defend their brethren, though they had never previously met them?
Here memorializes a Zionist story about refusing to abandon Jerusalem in the face of intense discouragement, in the exact building in which it took place. Watch two audio-visual exhibits (45 min in all), that tell the extraordinary, heroic story of the Jewish struggle against the prejudice of the British Mandate, in the name of preserving tradition, and the Jewish people’s connection to Jerusalem and the Western Wall.
