Jewish quarter - one of the four areas of the Old City between the Zion Gate, and Temple Mount. It seems that the tight maze of streets hundreds of years. Surprisingly, it is not.

Of course, the city has long been noisy here - since the First Temple. When Emperor Hadrian through next quarter's main street ran constructed on the ruins of Jerusalem colony Aelia Capitolina - Cardo Maximus. (Now site of ancient streets dug up and turned into an outdoor museum.)

For centuries, the Muslim era in the quarter lived not only Jews, but the day came when they were here was not at all - in 1948 during the Arab-Israeli war. Quarter was besieged and destroyed one of its residents died, someone ran, someone got into Jordanian captivity. Many were convinced that the Jews will not return here.

Unique photographic evidence of the days of the British photographer John Phillips can be seen in the permanent exhibition "Alone on the walls." In memory of the defenders of the quarter created a small museum, and at the former site of a mass grave outside Maamdot Israel a memorial stone.

When Israel returned control of the quarter in 1967 Six Day War, the area was a pile of rubble. Initially offered to split the park here, but won another point of view: to restore the Jewish quarter as the memory of centuries of existence of the Jews in Jerusalem.

The new space was designed and built the best architects in Israel. They committed the unthinkable: construction of the eighties of the XX century has an aura of genuine antiquity. Disposition of the chaotic streets of curves up and down the stone stairs leading houses hanging over the streets ... And at the same time is the European city with clean sidewalks.

Quarter - a living, breathing part of the energy of the old town. Residents there are only two thousand, but many yeshivas (religious schools), synagogues. Among them - the oldest synagogue in Jerusalem, Karaite (X century) and Ramban (XIII century) .In 2010 exploded Jordanians restored Hurva synagogue, one of the largest world centers of Judaism.

There are a lot of museums and excavations. In the center of "Ariel" interesting scale model of the era of the First Temple in Jerusalem and exhibits telling about the Assyrian siege. To the time of King Hezekiah (VIII century BC. E.) Are excavated Wide walls to protect the city from the Assyrians. A little to the north of it - the remains of the Tower of the Israelites even the Iron Age, the witness of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC. e. Museum "burnt house" tells about the dramatic moments of the history of the city - its destruction by the Romans in the year 70. The museum "Old Yishuv Courtyard" you can learn how to live here Jews in the XIX - early XX centuries.

A park still broke - in the southern part of the district, next to the fortress wall. Once the area has held a camp of the Roman Tenth Legion, which destroyed Jerusalem in the Byzantine era here towered majestic new church (at the edge of the park can be seen its ruins). Green, quiet place is a symbolic name for the Jewish quarter - Renaissance Park.