Start along the Via Dolorosa, the route taken by Jesus from the place where he was condemned to where he was crucified and buried. Catholics will note that all fourteen Stations of the Cross are marked along the way with wall plaques in case they wish to pray at those spots. Start at the Lion's Gate on the east side of the Old City and follow the street to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Be warned, though, that over the years the exact route has been disputed. The Via Dolorosa is in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City. There are Jewish, Christian and Armenian Quarters of Jerusalem as well, not to mention the modern part of the city.
Walk to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Suq Khan e-Zeit and Christian Quarter Road. The last five Stations of the Cross are located here, as is the Stone of Unction, upon which it is said that Christ's body was prepared after the crucifixion, the rock of Calvary, upon which the Cross of Christ was erected, as well as Christ's Tomb and numerous chapels. Control of the church is divided between the Catholic, Armenian Apostolic and Greek, Syrian, Coptic and Ethiopian Orthodox Churches. This has resulted in a lot of bad blood over the years, as well a rather complicated decor within the church building.
Go to the Western Wall to pray or even reflect on thousands of years of Jewish history. The Western Wall is located below and to the west of Temple Mount, in Western Wall Plaza, north of Batai Mahase Street and south of He-Shalshelet Street. The Wall is all that is left of the Temple of Herod and as such is considered a sacred spot. It is common for people praying to stick a slip of paper containing a petition to God into one of the clefts of the rock wall. Non-Jews are allowed to visit and pray here, so long as they have their heads covered and dress in a modest, respectable manner.
Ascend to the Temple Mount or Haram esh-Sharif, by going through the walkway just to the south of Western Wall Plaza. Orthodox Jews should not go up there, because the entire Mount is considered holy. If you're a Muslim, you can enter on another side. But if you do not belong in either of these categories and you pass through the very strict security, you get to go up to the top of the Mount. The buildings up here include the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque. The Rock is said to be the one upon which the biblical patriarch Abraham almost sacrificed his son Isaac. The Mount is the likely site of either the Temple of Solomon or that of Herod. And the Prophet Muhammad was said to have stopped here on his journey from Mecca to Jerusalem to Heaven and back to Mecca. There are numerous other buildings on this site, including several more domes and an Islamic museum.
Explore the Citadel, or David's Tower, by the Jaffa Gate on the southwest side of the Old City. Built by King Herod, the Tower has been added to and altered by just about every civilization to come into contact with it. No longer used as a fortification, it now houses the Museum of the History of Jerusalem and is a venue for the performing arts and the site of temporary history and cultural exhibitions.
Learn about Jewish history and culture at the Israel Museum, on the western side of the New City on Ruppin Road west of Emek-Matsleva-Rehavia Park. Featuring collections of art, Judaica, sculpture and archaeological finds, the museum is best-known for the Shrine of the Book, a modern structure with an onion dome, wherein are displayed the Dead Sea Scrolls and other early Hebrew texts.
Head next to Yad Vashem, Israel's memorial to the Holocaust on the west side of the New City. Take Herzl Boulevard South to the Holland Junction and turn west onto Hazikaron Street. This extensive complex includes a library, archives, a museum of Holocaust art, the Hall of Names, the International School for Holocaust Studies, the International Institute for Holocaust Research, a synagogue, a Visual Center, the Children's Memorial, the Memorial to the Deportees, Warsaw Ghetto Square, the Valley of the Communities, the Avenue and Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations, the interactive Holocaust History Museum and the Hall of Remembrance, which is lit by an eternal flame.
Proceed south of the Old City, south of the Armenian Quarter, to Mount Zion, which is surrounded on three sides by Hativat Yerushalayim Road. Noted structures here include the Coenaculum, or Cenacle, which features King David's Tomb downstairs and the Upper Room of the Last Supper and Day of Pentecost upstairs, as well as the Abbey of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary/Hagia Maria Sion Abbey, with a basilica that marks the site where the Virgin Mary was said to have been assumed into Heaven. Holocaust hero Oskar Schindler is buried in the Catholic cemetery on the southeast side of Mount Zion and Hativat Yerushalayim Road.
Continue east of the Old City to the Mount of Olives, where you'll see the Garden of Gethsemane, the Tomb of the Virgin Mary, the Cave of Gethsemane where Judas is said to have betrayed Jesus, the Church of the Paternoster, built on the site where Christ is said to have taught His followers to pray the Lord's Prayer, the Church of All Nations and the Dome of the Ascension.
