Jerusalem, the capitol of three world religions. The Dome of the Rock is located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. In the background is the Mount of Olives.

Jerusalem was subject to countless wars, sieges and combats. Thus it has a massive enforcement ring around the old part of the City.

The city is overcrowded with religious sites for both inhabitants and pilgrims. Among them are mosques, synagogues, churches, chapelles, monasteries and prayer houses.

A Jew visiting a small synagogue in the centre of Jerusalem.

In order to visit the Western Wall - the last remnant of the old Jewish Temple - one has to wear a Kippah to fulfill the customary requirement to cover the head. This applies only to men, women do not have access to the Inner part of the Western Wall.

The Western Wall of the old Jewish Temple.

Orthodoxe Jews follow a strict dress code. Many wear the payot, a long curl growing from the temple that joins the beard.

Praying Jews at the Wall. Some put small notes with prayers and wishes in the cracks between the rocks.

Bar-Mitzvahs are held regularly at the Western Wall. It is an age ritual that marks the point of time when the young religious Jews become responsible for the actions in a religious sense. It is also the day when they first are allowed to read from the Torah.

The ritual is held at the age of 14 and is done in strict tradition. Here, only male members of the family are allowed to attend the celebration.

The Torah is opened for the young Jew to read the first sentences.

This is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Many believe that the corpus of Christ was buried here.

The garden of Getsemane. Jesus is said to have prayed here the night before his cruzification. It is located at the foot of the Mount of Olives.

The Mount of Olives is home to a tremendous Jewish cementary. Instead of flowers, relatives and visitors put down stones on the cover of the tombs.

A muslim cementary is located directly opposite behind the Walls of the Temple Mount.

A view from the plateau of the Temple mount.

The Dome of the Rock is one of the most holy sites for Muslims. In the inside lays the Moriah rock which is believed to mark the spot from where Muhammad ascended to heaven. Unfortunately, others believe it is the Foundation stone for the old Jewish Temple. It is therefore the most important stone for two world religions.

The outside of the Dome is a beautiful mosaic of blue ceramics.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque. Situated next to the Dome of the Rock and the third most important pilgrimage for Muslims after Mecca and Medina.

Street markets outside..

..and inside.

Yad Vashem. It is the official memorial for the victims of the Holocaust.

Jerusalem is two cities in one. A concrete wall of 8 meters divides the city in an Israeli and a Palestinian part. The Wall was intended to protect Israeli settlements from suicide attacks.

No passing allowed

Only flowers penetrate the barb wire.

Poverty rules in the palestinian part. No sanitation infrastructure is maintained and the rubbish accumulates in the streets.

Kilometers the wall is impassable.

At the time elections were coming up..

..and the right-conservative falcons won the majority. Benjamin Netanjahu became Prime Minister initiating an end of all negotiations for a separate palestinian state.