The Jerusalem Ramparts Walk, Old City, Jerusalem, Israel

With its narrow streets, bazaar like atmosphere and thousands of years of history, the Old City of Jerusalem is one of the world’s foremost tourist attractions. It is also a place of pilgrimage, a focal point for three major world religions. All of which means that it can get very crowded at times. So the Jerusalem Ramparts Walk was an attractive option: a peaceful stroll around the city walls and a different perspective on the old town.

The ramparts are a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site that includes the whole of the Old City of Jerusalem. However they have their own entrances and exits and, compared with the throng inside the walls, there weren’t many tourists here. Many of the people I encountered seemed to be pilgrims in search of a secluded place where they could stop and read their Bibles.

The walls are tall and solid, and as you walk you realise how much protection they would have given to the city (until 1914 the whole population of Jerusalem lived within the walls, and the gates were locked at night). You pass between the enclosed and narrow spaces of the old town on one side, and the hills and open expanses of the new city on the other. You spot things you wouldn’t come across on the well worn tourist routes inside the walls. This is the stuff of everyday life. Not just the rooftop views of water tanks and satellite dishes, competing for attention with domes and church spires. But also private houses, schools and bits of green space. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).