Four Quarters of Jerusalem

The Old City (Hebrew: העיר העתיקה‎, HaEer HaAtika, Arabic: البلدة القديمة‎, al-Balda al-Qadimah) is a 0.9 square kilometre (0.35 square mile) walled area within the modern city of Jerusalem; it lies within East Jerusalem. Until the 1860s this area constituted the entire city of Jerusalem. The Old City is home to several sites of key religious importance: the Temple Mount and its Western Wall for Jews, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christians, and the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque for Muslims.

Traditionally, the Old City has been divided into four uneven quarters, although the current designations were introduced only in the 19th century. Today, the Old City is roughly divided into the Muslim Quarter, the Christian Quarter, the Jewish Quarter and the Armenian Quarter. Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War the Old City found itself located entirely on the Jordanian side of the demarcation line. During the Six Day War in 1967, which saw hand to hand fighting on the Temple Mount, the Old City transferred to Israeli control.

In 1980, Jordan proposed the Old City to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site List. It was added to the List in 1981. In 1982, Jordan requested that it be added to the List of World Heritage Sites in danger.

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