Middle East - Anthony Ham [217]
In 1250 the city came under the influence of the Mamluks, successors to Saladin’s Ayyubid dynasty, who ruled from Egypt and turned the city into a centre of Islamic learning. In 1517 the Ottoman Turks defeated the Mamluks in battle near Aleppo, and thereby absorbed Jerusalem into their expanding empire. The city remained under loose Turkish rule from Constantinople for the next 400 years.
A lack of central authority from the 18th century on resulted in squabbles between landowners, and in the mid-19th century the power vacuum seemed to invite portions of the Jewish Diaspora to return to their ancestral homeland. Subsequently, Jerusalem became a hotbed of Arab and Jewish rivalry. The Ottomans rejected a British proposal to create an international enclave in the city, a decision that made the city a battleground again in 1948. When the fighting ended, a ceasefire, or ‘Green Line’, divided the city, with Israel on the west and Jordan to the east. After the Six Day War of 1967, Jerusalem was reunified under Israeli rule, but the control of the Holy City remains a sore point for Palestinians, who still claim the city as their capital today.
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ORIENTATION
Jerusalem is divided into three distinct parts, each with an extremely individual character: the ancient walled Old City with its four quarters (Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Armenian); the predominantly Arab enclave of East Jerusalem; and the Israeli New City, also known as West Jerusalem. The main street in the New City is Jaffa Rd, which runs east to west between the Old City and the central bus station. The city’s main shopping areas are concentrated on King George V, Ben Yehuda and Hillel Sts.
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INFORMATION
Bookshops
Educational Bookshop (Map, 628 3704; 22 Salah ad-Din St; 8am-8pm) This fantastic East Jerusalem bookshop has a range of books illuminating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, along with a selection of Palestinian music CDs.
Sefer VeSefel (Map; 624 8237; 2 Ya’Avetz St; 8am-8pm Sun-Thu, 8am-2.30pm Fri, 8.30-11.30pm Sat) A Jerusalem institution housing floor-to-ceiling new and secondhand fiction and nonfiction titles.
T’mol (Map; 623 2758; tmol-shilshom.co.il; 5 Yoel Salomon St; 8.30am-midnight Sun-Thu, 8.30am-4pm Fri, 8pm-midnight Sat) Bohemian café and used bookshop, often hosting poetry readings or lectures by authors and journalists.
Emergency
Central police station (Map; emergency 100) Near the Russian Compound in the New City.
Fire department ( 102)
First aid ( 101)
Police ( 100)
Internet Access
There’s no shortage of tiny internet cubbyholes in the Old City, where you can you check your email in a centuries-old cavern, surrounded by online game-playing Arab teenagers.
Freeline (Map; 627 1959; 8th station, 51 Aqabat al-Khanqah St; per hr 12NIS; 10am-midnight)
Internet Café (Map; 622 3377; 31 Jaffa Rd; per hr 15NIS; 9.30am-4am) In the New City; located beside the Main post office.
St Raphael@Internet (Map; Jaffa Gate; per hr 15NIS; 10am-midnight Mon-Sat)
Laundry
Laundry Place (Map; 625 7714; 12 Shamai St; 8.30am-8pm Sun-Thu, 8.30am-3pm Fri) Washes laundry at 10NIS per kilo.
Media
Jerusalem Post (jpost.com) A good source of local news and events listings, with an extensive ‘What’s On’ weekend supplement published on Fridays.
Medical Services
Hadassah Hospital (Map; 684 4111)On Mt Scopus, with another enormous branch above Ein Kerem (off Map; 677 7111).
Magen David Medical Centre (Map; 652 3133; 7 Himem Gimel St, Romema; 24hr) Five minutes’ walk from the central bus station.
Orthodox Society (Map; 627 1958; Greek Orthodox Patriarchate Rd; 8am-3pm Mon-Fri, 8am-1pm Sat) In the Old City’s Christian Quarter, the Orthodox Society operates a low-cost medical and dental clinic that welcomes travellers.
Money
There are banks with ATMs all over town; remember that Old City ATMs are not in service during Shabbat (Friday dusk to Saturday just after dusk). The best deals for changing money are at the private, commission-free