Jerusalem's Old City is a tiny enclave where some of history's greatest dramas have been enacted. Busy and colorful, it is the fountainhead of three major religions, the site of many of the world's most venerated shrines, and home to 26,000 people of profoundly different cultures who live side by side in a fragile peace. JERUSALEM: WITHIN THESE WALLS offers a kaleidoscopic view of the city and its people as they are today -- the remarkable outcome of 3,000 years of history, hope and faith.
Within a square mile, enclosed by stone wall, live 26,000 people. Representing a multitude of nations, religions, and cultures, the people of this city rejoice in the historical and spiritual significance of their home--Jerusalem. National Geographic examines the lives of some of the residents in its 59-minute documentary Jerusalem: Within These Walls. The area of the Old City is divided into four quarters--Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Armenian--each of which surrounds an emblem of its culture: the Western Wall of the Second Temple, the Dome of the Rock mosque, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Cathedral of St. James. As the spiritual center of the three Western religions, Jerusalem may always be a city of tension and turmoil, yet its undeniable beauty and importance force people of differing beliefs to live side by side. Jews of 120 cultural backgrounds live in the Jewish quarter. The Zadok family immigrated from Yemen, where Jews faced tremendous persecution. In Israel they still hold onto many of their traditions, including elaborate wedding rituals, noted for their ornate finery. The video also introduces the third Jewish couple--a Belgian man and his sabra (a native-born Israeli) wife--to move into the Old City after its liberation from Jordan in the war of 1967. We then move to the Muslim quarter, where we meet a family who has lived in Jerusalem for 1,300 years. A young man embraces both tradition--as a furniture repairer--and modern life--as an actor on an Israeli Arabic TV show. In the Christian quarter, Father Timothy is presented, a Greek monk who has dedicated his life to serving the church that stands where Jesus was crucified. Finally, we meet an Armenian man, who escaped the holocaust of his own country, was sold into slavery, and finally was rescued by a Jerusalem orphanage. Telling a remarkable tale of survival, of both the city and her people, this video shows Jerusalem in all her splendor. --Jenny Brown
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