10 Things You Didn't Know About Jerusalem

There's more to Jerusalem than its holy sites. 

1. Jerusalem has a zoo. 

Its official name is the Tisch Family Zoological Gardens in Jerusalem, but is widely known as the Biblical Zoo.

The 65-acre park is home to many species of cool animals that are mentioned in the Bible and that are indigenous to the Holy Land. These include the griffon vulture, scimitar-horned oryx and my personal favorite, the sand cat.

2. Jerusalem has a fancy multi-million dollar bridge that crosses no water.

And not everyone likes it, either. But then people have a habit of dissing bold architectural statements.

In this case, it's the Chords Bridge, which debuted in 2008 and was designed by Santiago Calatrava - the famed architect from Valencia who also designed a bridge in Venice (also in 2008) and is redesigning the World Trade Center PATH Terminal in New York. Calatrava's cable-stayed bridge is at the entrance of the city and is used by the new Jerusalem Light Rail. It's functional and elegant, though Israeli daily Haaretz calls Calatrava's creations the "McDonalds of bridges."

3. Jerusalem has a windmill.

Sir Moses Montefiore is a name forever connected with the development of Jerusalem.

He first visited the city in 1855 and not long after set about facilitating residential expansion beyond the old city walls, in Mishkenot Sha'ananim.
He built an almshouse and in 1857 a windmill for Jews already in living in Jerusalem. You can visit both today.

4. Napoleon had designs on Jerusalem.

Okay, so little Napoleon had designs on a lot of things, but the Holy Land was included.

In 1799, Napoleon's men tried to lay siege to Acre, on the coast. According to Napoleon expert Ben Weider, the French Emperor "felt confident that he could occupy Acre and in the following days he would enter Jerusalem [from where] he would issue a proclamation making Palestine an independent Jewish state." But Ottoman troops and British sailors got in his way.

5. Jerusalem has a world-class cinematheque.

The Temple Mount, the Western Wall, the twisting alleys of the Old City

 if you're in this place of legends and are looking for a window onto the world via cinema, check into the Jerusalem Cinematheque and Israel Film Archive. It's a contemporary complex that hosts the Jerusalem Film Festival each summer. And it's got a great cafe.

6. Jerusalem has Israel's best restaurant.

Tel Aviv is known as the culinary capital of Israel but many say that the country's finest restaurant is in Jerusalem. One reason for Machneyuda's popularity is a trio of star chefs, and another is their rigid allegiance to ingredients that are fresh from the city's famed Mahane Yehuda marketplace. 
But the atmosphere here is uniquely effervescent and delicious too.

7. Jerusalem has Jesus.

It might seem sacrilegious to some Israelis who rightly cherish the Western Wall and other Jewish holy sites in Jerusalem, and of course Jerusalem has amazing sites that are holy to not one, but three of the world's great religions, but all travelers are always struck by aspects of Jerusalem's past that relate to early Christianity. There is a remarkable authenticity and, in contrast to so many Occidental interpretations of Jesus, simplicity in evidence everywhere from the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

8. Jerusalem has a Festival of Lights.

A city build of old stones burnished by the sun, on the cusp of a desert,

Jerusalem is blessed with a unique light that bathes it in a golden sunset glow. But for one week every summer, those stones become the breathtaking, backlit backdrop to mesmerizing light projections after dark. The Tower of David, Hezekiah's Cave, the Damascus Gate and more: all are fleetingly reborn as works of glowing contemporary art during the Jerusalem Festival of Lights.

9. Jerusalem has underground secrets.

At the site of the Western Wall, or rather, under it, there are ancient tunnels that connect the wall's prayer area to the northwest side of the Temple Mount. These pass along the edge of the Temple Mount and beneath houses. You can visit these on a guided tour.

10. Jerusalem has a Time Elevator.

Cher cannot turn back time - but has she been to Jerusalem? Because if she had taken a ride in the Jerusalem Time Elevator, the high priestess of pop and wigs might just change her tune. The fancy "elevator" integrates light, film, sound, special effects and even Topol (ofFiddler on the Roof fame) to tell the story of Jerusalem from the time of King David to the Six-Day War in 1967. Passengers "journey" on moving seats on six conveyor belts. Three thousand years in just one hour? You're in Jerusalem: Done.