什麼是耶路撒冷

希伯來語作Yerushalayim

阿拉伯語作Al-Quds

以色列首都。位居全國靠近中央的位置，死海的西部，地中海的東部。是猶太教、基督教和伊斯蘭教的聖城。猶太人之所以稱它是聖城是因爲它是希伯來人的古都和所羅門聖殿所在；基督徒則是因爲這裏是耶穌基督一生活動和釘死於十字架的地方；穆斯林是因爲據說穆罕默德是從這裏昇天。西元前1000年大衛王佔領耶路撒冷，並把它設爲以色列首都；他的兒子所羅門在西元前10世紀建造了聖殿。西元前63年羅馬人奪佔了耶路撒冷。後來穆斯林阿拉伯人（637）和十字軍（1099）先後佔領了此地。1917年英國人佔據耶路撒冷成爲英國託管下的巴勒斯坦首都。在以阿戰爭期間，耶路撒冷被外約旦（後爲約旦）和以色列瓜分。前者兼併舊城和東耶路撒冷其餘地區，後者佔據西耶路撒冷。1967年的六日戰爭以色列奪得東耶路撒冷，此後該城的地位一直是爭論的主要焦點：國際社會大部分不予承認，使得最後的領土權歸屬問題懸而未決。城內猶太教的聖所包括第一、第二聖殿和西牆；伊斯蘭教的聖地包括巖頂圓頂寺和阿克薩清真寺（遠寺）。人口約633,700（1999）。

Jerusalem

ArabicAl-QudsCity (pop., 1997 est.: 591,000) and capital of Israel. It is located near the center of the nation, west of the Dead Sea and east of the Mediterranean Sea. It is a holy city of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Jews hold the city sacred because it is the ancient capital of the Hebrews and the site of the Temple of Solomon; Christians, because it was the scene of the ministry and crucifixion of Jesus; and Muslims, because Muhammad is believed to have ascended to heaven from a site there. In 1000 BC King David captured it and made it the capital of Israel; his son Solomon built the Temple in the 10th century BC. The Romans captured it in 63 BC. Later, Muslim Arabs in 637, and Crusaders in 1099 (see Crusades) took it. Occupied by the British in 1917, it became the capital of the British mandate of Palestine. During the Arab-Israeli Wars, it was divided between Transjordan (later Jordan), which held the Old City and the rest of East Jerusalem, and Israel, which held West Jerusalem. Israel took East Jerusalem in the Six-Day War of 1967. Its capital status has remained a major point of contention: recognition by the international community has largely been withheld pending final settlement of territorial rights. The city's sacred Jewish shrines include the site of the First and Second Temples and the Western (Wailing) Wall; its Islamic holy places include the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque.