Jerusalem is a hilltop city of about 1 million people in the Judean Mountains, sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims. Its walled Old City holds the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Haram al-Sharif (Temple Mount) with the Dome of the Rock, while West Jerusalem offers the Mahane Yehuda market, Israel Museum and Yad Vashem, and East Jerusalem has Palestinian-run neighbourhoods, markets and the Mount of Olives.
Cultural orientation
Essential context for travellers.
Jerusalem runs on three weekly rest days: Friday (Muslim congregational prayer, Muslim Quarter shops quiet around midday), Saturday (Shabbat, most Jewish-run West Jerusalem shut) and Sunday (Christian Quarter and some church-run shops close). Plan Old City shopping and sightseeing around all three.
Dress modestly everywhere in the Old City, not only at holy sites: shoulders and knees covered for men and women, and carry a light scarf or shawl in the daypack so a head or shoulder covering is always at hand.
Ask before photographing people, especially Orthodox Jews, Muslim women, priests and soldiers. In ultra-Orthodox areas such as Mea Shearim photographing residents is widely resented and may draw an angry reaction.
Shabbat starts at sunset on Friday and ends after dark on Saturday (about 40-50 minutes after sunset). Buses, the Light Rail and most West Jerusalem restaurants and shops stop; taxis (including Gett) and Arab-run East Jerusalem businesses keep running.
Security checks are routine at the Old City gates area, malls, hotels, the Central Bus Station and the Western Wall. Carry your passport (or a photocopy of the photo page and entry stamp), keep bags small, and cooperate calmly with guards.
Jerusalem is a sensitive political city. Avoid opening conversations on the status of Jerusalem, settlements or the conflict with strangers; listen first, and follow the other person's lead.
Respect the Status Quo at shared holy places. In the Church of the Holy Sepulchre six Christian communities share custody under rules set in the Ottoman era; do not move candles, lamps or chairs, and follow the instructions of the Greek Orthodox, Latin and Armenian attendants.
Tipping is expected: 10-15% in sit-down restaurants (check whether service is already added), rounding up for taxis, and about 20-30 NIS (roughly USD 7-10) per day for a private guide. 1 USD is about 3.05 ILS.
Do's and don'ts
Quick guide to local norms.
Do
- Greet with 'Shalom' (Hebrew) in West Jerusalem and 'Marhaba' or 'Salaam alaikum' (Arabic) in East Jerusalem and the Old City's Muslim Quarter.
- Cover shoulders and knees; men cover their head with a kippah (paper ones are free at the Western Wall plaza) at the Western Wall and Jewish holy sites.
- Remove shoes at mosque entrances if you are a Muslim visitor invited inside; non-Muslims cannot enter the Dome of the Rock or Al-Aqsa Mosque buildings in any case.
- Check Shabbat candle-lighting and end times on a calendar app (Hebcal at hebcal.com) and buy food, cash and transport tickets before Friday afternoon.
- Use the right hand for giving and receiving money, food and cards in Arab neighbourhoods.
- Bargain politely in the Old City souks and in Salah al-Din Street shops that do not display prices; smile, counter at roughly half the first price and walk away if the number does not work.
- Wait for people to leave a bus or Light Rail carriage before boarding and offer your seat to older passengers.
- Keep hotel and bank contact details for the Israeli police tourist helpline (dial 100 for police, 101 for ambulance/Magen David Adom, 102 for fire) saved on the phone.
Don't
- Do not carry or display religious items for prayer, such as Bibles, prayer books, prayer shawls or rosaries, onto the Haram al-Sharif (Temple Mount); do not pray, sing, bow or move your lips in a way that looks like prayer there.
- Do not wear shorts, short skirts, sleeveless tops or low necklines at the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre or on the Temple Mount.
- Do not drive, smoke, use a phone camera for selfies at prayer areas, or write on Shabbat in or near Orthodox neighbourhoods such as Mea Shearim, Geula and Bukharim; cars passing on Shabbat in these areas have been stoned in the past.
- Do not turn your back on the Western Wall when leaving; many worshippers step backwards, and visitors are welcome to do the same, but pushing past people at the wall is considered disrespectful.
- Do not photograph soldiers, police posts, checkpoints or security procedures, and do not take pictures of people praying at the Western Wall on Shabbat (photography at the wall is forbidden on Shabbat and Jewish holidays).
- Do not eat, drink or smoke in public in Muslim neighbourhoods during daylight in Ramadan, and do not eat bread (chametz) in public or in religious neighbourhoods during Passover.
- Do not lose your temper at security checks, closed streets or delayed trams; calm patience is the quickest way through.
- Do not enter Haredi neighbourhoods in revealing clothing or with an unsupervised drone, and do not hold hands or kiss in the Old City's holy areas.
Etiquette by setting
How to navigate everyday situations.
- Greetings
- Handshake is normal in West Jerusalem; observant Jewish and Muslim men and women may decline physical contact with the opposite sex, so wait for the other person to extend a hand. Say 'Shalom' or 'Boker tov' in Hebrew, 'Marhaba' or 'Sabah al-khayr' in Arabic. English is widely understood.
- Dining
- Kosher rules shape West Jerusalem dining: most hotel and restaurant kitchens are kosher (no meat-and-dairy mixing, no pork or shellfish), and many close on Friday afternoon and Saturday. East Jerusalem, the Old City and Christian Quarter restaurants are not kosher and open on Shabbat. Hummus, falafel and shawarma are eaten with the hands and pita is the cutlery.
- Dress
- Modest everywhere in the Old City and in religious districts. At the Western Wall men need a head covering; women should cover shoulders, knees and ideally collarbone. In the rest of West Jerusalem, casual dress is accepted in cafes and the Mahane Yehuda market, and smart casual in upscale hotels.
- Gifts
- A small gift of sweets, pastries, fruit or flowers is welcome when invited to a home. Avoid alcohol for observant Muslim hosts and avoid non-kosher food for observant Jewish hosts. Offer gifts with both hands.
- Business
- Business culture is informal and direct; first names are common. Meetings start on time in tech and government but flexibly elsewhere. Sunday is a normal working day in Israel and Friday is a half-day.
- Tipping
- Restaurants 10-15% (often not added to the bill); taxis round up; hotel porters 10-20 NIS (about USD 3-7) per bag; guides 10-15% of the tour price. Cash NIS is best, though cards are widely accepted.
Useful phrases
A few words go a long way.
Shalom
Hello / Peace
sha-LOHM
Boker tov
Good morning
BOH-ker TOHV
Toda
Thank you
toh-DAH
Bevakasha
Please / You're welcome
be-va-ka-SHAH
Slicha
Excuse me / Sorry
sli-KHAH
Kama ze ole?
How much does it cost?
KA-ma zeh oh-LEH
Ata/At medaber/medaberet Anglit?
Do you speak English?
AH-ta meh-dah-BER ang-LEET (to a man); at meh-dah-BER-et ang-LEET (to a woman)
Shabbat shalom
Happy Shabbat (Friday to Saturday greeting)
sha-BAT sha-LOHM
As-salaamu alaikum
Hello (response: Wa alaikum as-salaam)
as-sa-LAA-mu a-LAY-kum
Marhaba
Hello (informal)
MAR-ha-ba
Shukran
Thank you
SHOOK-ran
Afwan
You're welcome
AF-wan
Kam hatha? / Bikam?
How much?
kam HA-tha / bi-KAM
Yalla
Let's go / Hurry up
YAL-la
La, shukran
No thank you
LAA SHOOK-ran
Religion & spirituality
Understanding faith in Jerusalem.
Main: Jerusalem is holy to three faiths. Judaism: the Western Wall (Kotel), the retaining wall of the Second Temple platform, is the holiest place where Jews may pray. Christianity: the Church of the Holy Sepulchre marks the traditional sites of the Crucifixion and empty tomb. Islam: the Haram al-Sharif (Temple Mount) with the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam.
Sites: Western Wall Plaza (Old City, open 24 hours, free; separate men's and women's sections; kippahs and shawls free at the entrance), Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Christian Quarter Road, Old City; open about 5AM-9PM in summer and 4AM-7PM in winter, free), Haram al-Sharif / Temple Mount (entrance for non-Muslims only through the Mughrabi Gate ramp beside the Western Wall plaza), Via Dolorosa (nine of the fourteen Stations of the Cross lie on or off the street, starting near the Lions' Gate), Church of All Nations and the Garden of Gethsemane (Mount of Olives), Dormition Abbey and the Room of the Last Supper (Mount Zion), Mea Shearim (Haredi neighbourhood).
Temple Mount: Non-Muslim visitors reach the Haram al-Sharif only via the Mughrabi Gate ramp from the Western Wall plaza, after a security check; carry a passport. Reported visiting hours are Sunday to Thursday in two short windows - roughly 7:30-11:00 and 12:30-13:30 in winter, and 8:30-11:30 and 13:30-14:30 in summer - and the site is closed to non-Muslims on Fridays and Saturdays. Hours and closures change without notice (Muslim holy days, security events), so confirm the same morning with the hotel front desk or by checking the Israel Ministry of Tourism information at the Jaffa Gate Tourist Information Office (Jaffa Gate, Old City). Rules: non-Muslims may walk the open plaza and visit the outer grounds with a Waqf-appointed escort but may not enter the Dome of the Rock or Al-Aqsa Mosque; no prayer, Bible reading, religious symbols or Israeli/other flags; modest dress; no food; backpacks are searched.
Dress Codes: Western Wall: men must cover their head (free paper kippahs at the entrance), women should cover shoulders and knees; the women's section is on the left. Church of the Holy Sepulchre: shoulders and knees covered, hats off inside. Temple Mount: long trousers or skirt, covered arms; women often carry a scarf for the hair. Mosques (if visited as a Muslim): remove shoes; women cover hair. Mea Shearim: women in long skirts and sleeves, no tight clothes; men in long trousers.
Shabbat: Shabbat runs from sunset Friday to nightfall Saturday. Public transport (including the Light Rail) stops about an hour before sunset on Friday and resumes after nightfall on Saturday; gas-station shops, most West Jerusalem restaurants and grocery stores close. Shabbat elevators and key cards are used in some hotels. Mahane Yehuda market closes around early Friday afternoon. Muslim and Christian East Jerusalem remains open (Friday midday is the Muslim congregational prayer, Sunday is the Christian day).
Holy Days: Jewish festivals with national closures: Rosh Hashanah (Sept/Oct), Yom Kippur (the entire country stops; no driving), Sukkot (Sept/Oct), Passover (March/April), Shavuot (May/June). Muslim: Ramadan (the dawn-to-dusk fasting month moves about 11 days earlier each year) and Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha. Christian: Easter (Holy Fire ceremony at the Holy Sepulchre on Orthodox Easter Saturday draws very large crowds) and Christmas Eve in Bethlehem. Expect closures, crowd controls and reduced hours around all of them.
Conversations: Religion is part of everyday life here. Visitors are welcome to ask respectful questions at holy sites, but avoid debating politics or the status of Jerusalem with strangers. Never touch religious texts or objects without permission.