Sacred Mosaic
A HERITAGE of architecture
in Jerusalem
BY ALBERTO LUCAS LÓPEZ,
MATTHEW W. CHWASTYK,
AND SOREN WALLJASPER
The embattled Old City of Jerusalem
has grown over the centuries into an
architectural patchwork reflecting the
styles, beliefs, and priorities of con-
querors past. The rulers who rebuilt
or repurposed these structures are
long gone, but evidence of their am-
bitions remains—both above and deep
below the bustling metropolis.
EUROPE
ASIA
Israel
WEst
Bank
AFRICA
Jerusalem
AREA ENLARGED
ISRAEL
Jerusalem
city limits
WEst
Bank
East
Jerusalem
OLD CITY
Israel
West
Jerusalem
Green Line,
1949 armistice
Old City
Enlarged Below
Residential
buildings
MUSLIM QTR.
24,530
residents
Haram al
Sharif
(Temple Mount)
CHRISTIAN
QUARTER
4,180
ARMENIAN
QTR.
2,300
JEWISH QTR.
3,130
City wall
Residential
buildings
Underground
features
Ancient
drainage
tunnel
Church of the
Holy Sepulchre
Dome of
the Rock
Tower of
David Citadel
Hurva
Synagogue
Church of the
Holy Sepulchre
Dome of
the Rock
Tower of
David Citadel
Hurva
Synagogue
Church of the
Holy Sepulchre
Dome of
the Rock
Tower of
David Citadel
Hurva
Synagogue
Church of the
Holy Sepulchre
Dome of
the Rock
Tower of
David Citadel
Hurva
Synagogue
Church of the
Holy Sepulchre
Dome of
the Rock
Tower of
David Citadel
Hurva
Synagogue
Herodian and Roman
63 B.C.-A.D. 324
Byzantine
A.D. 324-638
Crusader
1099-1187
Ayyubid and Mamluk
1187-1517
Ottoman
1517-1917
British Mandate
1917-1948
Jordanian control
1948-1967
Israeli control
1967-today
Date unknown
OLd City quarters
The area has long been divided into quarters with fluctuating boundaries and names. The Christian Quarter, for example, was once called the Patriarch’s Quarter; current names came into common use in the 1800s. The Old City is home to more than 34,000 registered residents (thousands more may be uncounted), most in the Muslim Quarter.
Structures from two millennia
Current buildings in Jerusalem reflect the many changes in rulers who came to dominate the city. Roman, Byzantine, early Muslim, Christian crusader, Ayyubid and Mamluk Muslim, Ottoman, and modern powers have all left their mark.
DOME OF THE ROCK
Begun in 691, this shrine protects
bedrock venerated as the place
where Abraham was to sacrifice
his son and Muhammad ascended
into heaven. Crusaders converted
it into a church called
Templum Domini.
TOWER OF DAVID CITADEL
Mamluk and Ottoman fortifications
stand over earlier towers built by
Hasmonean Jews and Herod the Great.
The site played a role in the city’s
defense for 2,500 years.
CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE
Begun in the Roman period, the church
is honored as the site where Jesus Christ
was crucified and buried, and then rose
from the dead.
HURVA SYNAGOGUE
Named for the Hebrew word for
"ruin," it was re-inaugurated in 2010,
62 years after it was destroyed by
Jordanian Legion forces.
ALBERTO LUCAS LÓPEZ, matthew W. chwastyk, KAYA BERNE, AND SOREN WALLJASPER, ngm staff; Patricia Healy; Gura Berger. 3D art: ariel roldán
sources: RIWAQ Archive, Palestinian Territories (building periods); Joe Uziel, IAA; Wendy Pullan, University of Cambridge, England; Jodi Magness, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research; Jerusalem Statistical Yearbook; Hebrew university of jerusalem GIS lab; OPenstreetmap contributors, available under open database license
Read the full story
Sacred Mosaic
A HERITAGE of architecture in Jerusalem
BY ALBERTO LUCAS LÓPEZ,
MATTHEW W. CHWASTYK,
AND SOREN WALLJASPER
The embattled Old City of Jerusalem has grown over the centuries into an architectural patchwork reflecting the styles, beliefs, and priorities of conquerors past. The rulers who rebuilt or repurposed these structures are long gone, but evidence of their ambitions remains—both above and deep below the bustling metropolis.
Jerusalem
city limits
WEst
Bank
EUROPE
ASIA
East
Jerusalem
Israel
WEst
Bank
AFRICA
Jerusalem
AREA ENLARGED
OLD CITY
Israel
West
Jerusalem
ISRAEL
Green Line,
1949 armistice
OLD CITY
ENLARGED BELOW
Herod’s
gate
Damascus
gate
NEW
gate
Al wad st.
(Ha Gay)
BEIT Habad st.
LIONS GATE ST.
LIONS’
GATE
Jaffa
gate
DAVID ST. (SUQ EL BAZAR)
Ha Shalshelet (STREET OF THE CHAIN)
GOLDEN
GATE
(blocked)
Haram AL Sharif
(Temple Mount)
Habad st.
(Suq el hussor)
Dung
gate
Zion
gate
Zedekiah’s Cave
(ancient quarry)
Pool of Israel
Hezekiah’s
Pool
Western Wall tunnels
Mamluk
caravansary
and hammam
Kishle
excavation
Cardo Maximus
Great Causeway
Al Marwani
Mosque
Herodian elite
mansions
Nea Church
Ancient
drainage
tunnel
63 B.C.
Present
Herodian and Roman
63 B.C.-A.D. 324
63 B.C.
Present
Byzantine
A.D. 324-638
63 B.C.
Present
Early Islamic
(Umayyad, Abbasid, Fatimid)
638-1099
63 B.C.
Present
Crusader
1099-1187
63 B.C.
Present
Ayyubid and Mamluk
1187-1517
63 B.C.
Present
Ottoman
1517-1917
63 B.C.
Present
British Mandate
1917-1948
63 B.C.
Present
Jordanian control
1948-1967
63 B.C.
Present
Israeli control
1967-today
63 B.C.
Present
DOME OF
THE ROCK
TOWER OF
DAVID CITADEL
(AL QALA)
CHURCH OF THE
HOLY SEPULCHRE
HURVA
SYNAGOGUE
SYMBOLS OF A CITY
These structures, developed over the centuries, shelter the most hallowed and historic ground in Jerusalem.
DOME OF THE ROCK
Begun in 691, this shrine protects bedrock
venerated as the place where Abraham
was to sacrifice his son and Muhammad
ascended into heaven. Crusaders converted
it into a church called Templum Domini.
CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE
Begun in the Roman period, the church
is honored as the site where Jesus Christ
was crucified and buried, and then rose
from the dead.
HURVA SYNAGOGUE
Named for the Hebrew word for
"ruin," it was re-inaugurated in 2010,
62 years after it was destroyed
by Jordanian Legion forces.
ALBERTO LUCAS LÓPEZ, matthew W. chwastyk, KAYA BERNE, AND SOREN WALLJASPER, ngm staff; Patricia Healy; Gura Berger. 3D art: ariel roldán
sources: RIWAQ Archive, Palestinian Territories (building periods); Joe Uziel, IAA; Wendy Pullan, University of Cambridge, England; Jodi Magness, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research; Jerusalem Statistical Yearbook; Hebrew university of jerusalem GIS lab; OPenstreetmap contributors, available under open database license
Read the full story