Getting to Know Jerusalem

There's a Ministry of Tourism information desk (tel. 03/971-1145) in the arrivals hall of Ben-Gurion International Airport. The staff will provide city maps, brochures (which you must buy), and answer your questions. A hotel reservations desk nearby can also help you find a room for the night.

At press time the Municipal Tourist Information Office has been closed for a number of years.

In the Old City, there's a Tourism Information Office just inside Jaffa Gate, a few steps down on the left (tel. 02/627-1422). At press time, the hours were Sunday to Thursday from 8am to 5pm; Friday from 8am to 1pm; in summer, there may be Saturday hours. This office sells maps and booklets, but there is a shelf with free maps and tourist brochures as well. Look for the Jerusalem Menus booklets, with discount coupons for many of the restaurants recommended by this book. The Information Office will also rent a recorded walking tour of the Old City for NIS 40 ($8.80) per day plus a security deposit.

The Christian Information Center (tel. 02/627-2692) at the far end of the square inside Jaffa Gate offers all kinds of useful information about tours, Christian hospices, group tours to Bethlehem, and religious services. It's open Monday to Saturday 8:30am to 1pm.

If you're surfing the Web, the Ministry of Tourism is at www.tourism.gov.ilor www.goisrael.com and the Municipality of Jerusalem site is www.Jerusalem.muni.il.

Maps & Publications -- Maps of Jerusalem are available at the Tourist Information Office inside the Jaffa Gate and cost $3 to $5, depending on the type you choose. It also sells books on travel in Israel, but check your planned purchases carefully -- I bought a book of Israeli road maps only to find that it was totally out of date (the office was kind enough to give me a refund). The office also offers a shelf of free pamphlets and information, including the always-useful Jerusalem Menus publications, with their restaurant discount coupons. Most major hotels have a counter with a selection of these free flyers and pamphlets, and good free maps that are sufficient for the requirements of most tourists. The Tourism Office may also have the booklet schedule for the Cinémathèque, and for art, cultural and performance events throughout the city. If your hotel doesn't have a good selection, check out the lobbies of other major hotels. Car-rental agencies have general maps of Israel, and can often provide more detailed maps of cities. Steimatzsky's Bookstore at Jaffa Road next to Zion Square (and other local bookstores) will have many current road maps.

Note: Many current maps printed in Israel no longer show the demarcation line between the West Bank and the pre-1967 Israeli border. Without a map showing this demarcation line, it is a bit easier to possibly stray into the West Bank, which at press time is under a State Department Travel Advisory, and where most rental cars will not be insured. Be careful and always get clear directions before setting out anywhere near that zone.

The Jerusalem Post has a daily listing of city events, but the Friday (weekend) edition is your best bet, with an exhaustive list of the week's activities throughout Israel. The International Herald Tribune contains the daily English-language edition of Ha'aretz, Israel's most respected newspaper. The Friday Ha'aretz, like the Jerusalem Post, contains a detailed section on events in Jerusalem and throughout the country. Another excellent source of information is the free monthly Events in the Jerusalem Region, prepared by the Tourist Office and available at the Municipal Tourism Information Offices and in hotel lobbies.

City Layout--To get around Jerusalem easily, you must understand how the city has grown. In the early 1800s, Jerusalem was still a walled medieval city -- a tortuous maze with sewage running down the streets. After the mid-19th century, Christian pilgrims and Zionist settlers began to create neighborhoods outside the city walls. From 1948 to 1967, Jerusalem was further divided when modern West Jerusalem remained under Israeli jurisdiction while the Old City and downtown East Jerusalem became part of the Kingdom of Jordan. Although the city has been united under Israeli control since 1967, Jerusalem is still three different cities in one: the Old City, the newer Israeli city of West Jerusalem, and the newer Arab city of East Jerusalem.

Due east of the Old City, the Kidron Valley lies between ancient Jerusalem and the long ridge known as the Mount of Olives (Et-Tur in Arabic). On the slopes of the mount, facing the Old City, is the Garden of Gethsemane. Farther down the valley, south of the Old City walls, is the Arabic town of Silwan, where the earliest settlement of Jerusalem developed more than 5,000 years ago. This is where the Jerusalem of the time of King David and King Solomon was located.

Getting Connected in Jerusalem--Jerusalem offers a wide variety of atmospheric places to get online. Charges are usually NIS 6 to NIS 7 ($1.30-$1.50) for 15 minutes. In West Jerusalem, the entire, lively downtown area from the Post Office on Jaffa Road, and including the Ben Yehuda-Yoel Salomon Pedestrian Mall area up to King George Street is a Wi-Fi zone. If you've got a Wi-Fi-equipped laptop with you, just set up in one of the many cafes or restaurants with everyone else. In the Old City of Jerusalem, the best (and possibly the cheapest) place is Abu Assab's Internet Cafe, above the venerable Abu Assab Orange and Carrot Juice Shop, at 172 Suq Khan es Zeit St. (the main thoroughfare running from Damascus Gate south, tel. 02/628-2486). It offers private, air-conditioned booths, is open daily 9am to 10pm, and has discount plans and unique advantages such as fresh-squeezed orange, grapefruit or carrot juice (the best in town) to keep you alert and healthy while surfing. In the Jewish Quarter, the little Bookshelf Bookstore, 2 Jewish Quarter Rd. (tel. 02/627-3889), is an interesting center of neighborhood activity, with two computers tucked in among the books. It is overseen by very helpful owners who came to Israel from California. It's open Sunday to Thursday from 10am to 6pm; Friday from 10am to 2pm.