Jerusalem (Hebrew: Yerushalayim; Arabic: al-Quds) is an ancient Middle Eastern city on the watershed between the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea at an elevation of 650-840 meter. It is located east of Tel Aviv, south of Ramallah, west of Jericho and north of Bethlehem.
Jerusalem was the capital of the Jewish kingdoms of Israel, Judah and Judea in the First Temple and Second Temple periods and is the capital of the modern State of Israel. It is the holiest city of Judaism and is of key importance to Christianity and Islam. The status of the eastern part of Jerusalem as part of the Israeli capital, and the control over that part of the city and its holy places, are internationally debated.
With a population of 704,900 (as of December 31, 2004 [1]), it is a heterogeneous city, representing a wide range of national, religious, and socioeconomic groups. The section called the "Old City" is surrounded by walls and consists of four quarters: Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim. The current mayor of Jerusalem is Uri Lupolianski, the first Haredi to ever hold such position.
Jerusalem houses many museums. The Israel Museum is undoubtedly the most famous. It includes a large collection of art and archaeological artifacts. In the "Shrine of the Book", it exhibits the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Rockefeller Museum is the city's specific museum for archeology. The Ticho House provides an art collections in a historical building. The Tower of David Museum is the main municipal museum, it includes models of the city and changing exhibits. Yad Vashem is the national holocaust museum and monument. The Islamic Museum in the Old City and Islamic Art Museum near the President's house both have collections of Islamic art, holy scripts and artifacts.
The city has two professional orchestras, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra-IBA and the Israel Camerata Jerusalem. In walking distance from the old city (southwest) is a cluster of cultural institutions. The Khan Theater is Jerusalem's only repertory theater. The Jerusalem Cinematheque is the venue in Jerusalem to watch non-commercial movies. It houses annually an international film festival and a Jewish film festival. In the Sultan Pool open air concerts are held, by Israeli artists and guests from abroad. The Jerusalem Music Center in Mishkanot Sheananim hosts chamber music concerts and workshops.
Jerusalem plays an important role in three major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, as well as in a number of smaller religious groups. A large number of places of have religious significance for these religions, among which the Western Wall, Al-Aqsa Mosque, and Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Jerusalem has warm and dry summers and, because of its altitude, relatively cold winters. It can sometimes snow. Because snow is rare, the city is not well equipped and much of the urban life comes to a halt when this occurs. Precipitation is 600 mm in a multi-year average, but much lower in the far east of the city. These parts are located on the edge of the Judean Desert (to the east).