The Four Corners of the Historical Old City: A Self-Guided Jerusalem Tour

(12 reviews)

Jerusalem audio tour: The Four Corners of the Historical Old City: A Self-Guided Jerusalem Tour

This is a 1.4mi walking tour

It takes an average of 90 mins to complete.

Jerusalem

Israel

$9.99

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About the Tour

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!

Tour Producer

Tomer Chelouche

7 tours

Father of two and Tel Aviv tour guide since 2008.

My family was one of the founding families of Tel Aviv. Unfortunately, they didn't leave me any real estate so I guide tours instead.

I love to tell people about this amazing city. Join me and I hope you'll enjoy all that Tel Aviv has to offer!

Preview Location

Location 12

View of the Temple Mount

Continue going down the stairs. Look up from time to time while I tell you more.

As you’re going down the stairs, the view opens up in front of you. You should now be able to see more and more of the ‘Noble Sanctuary’, as it is referred to in Arabic: ‘Haram al-Sharif’. This... Continue going down the stairs. Look up from time to time while I tell you more.

As you’re going down the stairs, the view opens up in front of you. You should now be able to see more and more of the ‘Noble Sanctuary’, as it is referred to in Arabic: ‘Haram al-Sharif’. This is one of the holiest sites in Islam, along with the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The significance of Haram al-Sharif is derived from the story of prophet Muhammad, as it appears in the Quran and other Islamic scriptures. One night, Muhammad flew on the back of Al-Buraq - a supernatural horse-like creature with wings - from Mecca to Jerusalem. He then summoned other prophets, such as Musa (presumed to be Moses) and Isa (presumed to be Jesus), to join him in prayer. Soon after, Muhammad ascended to the heavens and met with Allah, or God.

Your eyes will soon catch the view of a golden dome. This iconic structure, known as the Dome of the Rock, is considered the earliest creation of Islamic architecture, dating back to the seventh century. Stop when you see it.

Now, here is where it gets tricky - Haram al-Sharif, with the Dome of the Rock at its centre, is also known as Temple Mount. This is the very place where the Temple was constructed, where Jews performed their holiest ceremonies. According to Jewish tradition, this is the place where Abraham performed the Binding of Isaac as depicted in the Book of Genesis. To this very day, the Temple Mount is the focal point of Jewish prayers from all over the world.

By now, you should be able to see the Western Wall - that’s the wall right beneath the Dome of the Rock. After the temple was destroyed, Jews started to pray at the wall that was closest to where the temple stood. This is the source of its holiness in Jewish belief.

You can see Jews praying there any hour of the day. This image is a vivid demonstration of the religious overlap that is the essence of Jerusalem nowadays. This overlap stands in the backdrop of the modern-day tension between Jews and Muslims. It’s also an issue in the ongoing political conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. This image really makes you want to scream “can’t we all just get along?”

Continue walking down the stairs and locate the entrance to the Western Wall Plaza. This site is highly secured as a matter of routine, so you’ll have to go through security inspection before you can enter. You’ll hear from me again after you pass security and enter the Western Wall Plaza. Read More

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Major Landmarks

Jaffa Gate
Tower of David
Armenian Quarter
The Jewish Quarter
Old Yishuv Court Museum
HaKardo Street
בית כנסת החורבה - Hurva Synagogue
Temple Mount
Western Wall
Via Dolorosa
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Lutheran Church of the Redeemer
Muslim Quarter
Christian Quarter
Austrian Hospice
Old City Bazaar

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
Old City, Jerusalem
Total distance

2km
Final location
Old City, Jerusalem
Distance back to start location

112.98m

Directions to Starting Point

The tour starts at the Jaffa Gate, Jerusalem.

The best way to get to the starting point is by taking the Jerusalem light rail and disembarking at the City Hall station. There you’ll cross the road to reach the pedestrian promenade stretching next to the walls of the Old City. Follow the path by foot with the walls to your left until you reach the Jaffa Gate. You’ll see the Tower of David - a narrow cylinder-like tower - overlooking the place where you need to start the audio tour.

Another way of getting to the starting point at the Jaffa Gate is by bus, but this method of transit is not recommended. Roads in Jerusalem are tricky because of the hilly terrain and buses follow long routes through residential areas. If you’re not pressed for time and if you want to see the residents of Jerusalem in their natural environment, I recommend taking public bus number three and disembarking at the Jaffa Gate bus stop. It’s a few minutes walk from the starting point.

If you’ve got a lot of items on your agenda it’s best to take a taxi. Just take into account that taxi rides in Israel are considered expensive and tourists usually report that Israeli taxi drivers have a lot to improve in.

Unless you’re located within a ten minute walk away, don’t be tempted to arrive at the starting point by foot or with bicycles. You need to be fully energised before starting this audio tour, because it requires you to walk for about an hour and a half.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

Café Triest at the Austrian Hospice
The market streets of the Old City
Mamilla shopping mall
The Ramparts Walk atop the walls of the Old City
Sound and Light Fountain at Teddy Park

Best time of day

During the summer, which in Israel lasts roughly from May to September, a walking tour in Jerusalem is best done in the morning hours or late afternoon, to avoid the heat that peaks between 12pm-3pm. In other months of the year, you can enjoy this tour any time of the day. It’s also possible to take this tour after sunset, with night time providing a special atmosphere, though it is recommended to take advantage of daylight to better see the sites and to visit the ones you’d like during regular opening hours. The public toilet facilities mentioned in the tour are open roughly from dawn till dusk.

The route in its entirety is open to visitors any time, any day, since it passes through public areas and you can see the sites from the outside at all stops along the route. You can visit the Western Wall 24 hours a day, but for other sites along the route that you want to visit, it’s recommended to plan ahead. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre usually opens before sunrise, while the Hurva Synagogue, the Austrian Hospice and the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer open later in the morning hours, and they all close in the evening hours. The market streets usually have businesses open seven days a week, though some Muslim shop owners would close on Friday, some Jewish shop owners would observe a day of rest on Saturday, and the Christian shop owners will open late on Sunday or stay closed. The weekend in Israel lasts from Friday to Saturday, but in the Old City it can also be felt on Sunday, with many church services being administerd.

Israel has about three hundred days of sunshine a year, so even if you’re visiting during the rainy season, roughly from November till March, you probably won’t be bothered by rain at all. Just keep in mind that, as the saying goes, “when it rains, it pours” - if you did plan to take this tour on a day with unfavourable forecast, it’s recommended to reschedule, if possible. Walking in the rain should be a last resort, because the stone paving of the alleys of the Old City tend to turn slippery when it’s raining, and walking with an umbrella is uncomfortable in the narrow streets.

Precautions

The tour is not accessible for wheelchairs and strollers. You’d be routed through several sections with stairs, specifically (1) going down to the Western Wall, (2) going up along with the Via Dolorosa, and (3) going up towards the end of the tour.
Take into account that the tour requires you to walk for about an hour and a half. You have a lot of opportunities to have a break along the tour and go inside the sites to which this tour will take you, so it’s even safer to secure more than 90 minutes to complete.
This tour requires mild physical effort, concerning its length and the requirement to use stairs, but no special capability is needed. Just wear a good pair of walking shoes.
During this tour you’ll be walking mostly in pedestrianised spaces, but do keep in mind that some streets are accessible by car. Plus, even the narrowest streets are accessible to motorised bicycles, so watch out for them while walking the streets.
Especially during the summer, be sure to wear sunscreen, wear a hat and always have a bottle of water with you, preferably a reusable one.

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