Jerusalem crash course
Get to know Jerusalem with me!
“The view of Jerusalem is the history of the world; it is more, it is the history of heaven and earth.”
Benjamin Disraeli
What’s included in the Jerusalem crash course?
MODULE 1
The Old City
I’m going to be dramatic here and say that the Old City of Jerusalem is the most important square kilometer in the world. Nowhere else in the world do you have so many important sites so close to one another, literally touching each other – the Temple Mount, the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and so much more.
MODULE 2
The City of David
The City of David is a site located outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. This is ancient Jerusalem (yes, ancient Jerusalem lies outside the Old City. Welcome to Jerusalem). A very well-known book was written about this site – it’s called the Bible. But without a guide to show you around, you’ll understand next to nothing.
MODULE 3
The Mount of Olives
To the east of the Old City of Jerusalem, you will find the Mount of Olives. The sites here are connected to the past – you have the oldest Jewish cemetery and churches that commemorate events from Jesus’s life. But they are also connected to future events…
Total length:
22 videos (more are coming soon), which add up to about three and a half hours of content.
A bit about me:
My name is Oren. I live in a kibbutz in the Negev desert with my wife and three kids. I’ve been a tour guide since 2011. When I started guiding, I set myself a mission – to solve a problem that no one seemed to be talking about 🙂 Most of the sites in Israel are not impressive in themselves. The Western Wall is, well, a wall. If you enter the Church of the Holy Sepulchre during high season, it feels more like a madhouse than one of the most sacred places in the world.
If you want to enjoy the sites in Israel, especially in Jerusalem, you need to know the story behind them. And so I wrote a series of booklets about the sites and started up my own YouTube channel.
After a few years of working with tourists, I began to understand that the problem was not only the sites, but also Israel itself. So, I started making videos about the sites, yes, but also Israeli society, history, and… politics.
I enjoy it so much I don’t think I’ll ever stop.
"Thank you for the excellent footage and guide. I’ve been wanting to take my family to Israel for 20 years, and now at least they can have a tour from Texas."
- Steve Wallace
"Thank you so very much. Your work brings me as close as I can get at this time to the most important place to me in this world. Your attention to detail and love for what you do is self evident. "
- Joanne Goleman
"Hi Oren, Amazing! This course is really special. We will rewatch it many times as we develop our own sense of Jerusalem. ."
- Paul Roux