Russian Compound

Jerusalem

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Dominated by the green domes of its Church of the Holy Trinity, this compound was acquired by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1860 to strengthen the Russian imperial presence in the Holy Land. In the last years of the British Mandate, it and nearby streets were turned into a fortified administrative zone nicknamed ‘Bevingrad’ by Palestinian Jews after the reviled British foreign secretary Ernest Bevin.

Today it's home to Jerusalem’s central police station, law courts and soon a massive 37,100-sq-metre new campus for the Bezalel Academy of Arts & Sciences (scheduled for completion in 2021). With galleries, classrooms, shops and 2500 full-time students, it is likely to transform the neighbourhood.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Jerusalem, Israel - July 26, 2015: Panorama of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre - church in Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected.

    Church of the Holy Sepulchre

    0.42 MILES

    Four magnificent arches, their lintels richly decorated with Crusader crosses, herald the entrance to one of Christianity's most sacred sites. The church…

  • JERUSALEM, ISRAEL JUNE 10 2015: Israeli Temple Mount policeman greets the locals under the arches near the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount on June 10 2015 in the Old City of Jerusalem Israel.; Shutterstock ID 408810679; Your name (First / Last): Lauren Keith; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Middle East Online Highlights Update

    Temple Mount/Al Haram Ash Sharif

    0.75 MILES

    There are few patches of ground as holy – or as disputed – as this one. Known to Muslims as Al Haram Ash Sharif (The Noble Sanctuary) and to Jews as Har…

  • People prays and walk in front of the western wall, wailing wall or kotel.

    Western Wall

    0.71 MILES

    The air is electric at Judaism's holiest prayer site, where worshippers recite scriptures, lay their hands on 2000-year-old stone and utter impassioned…

  • Israel Museum

    Israel Museum

    1.31 MILES

    More than 5000 years of cultural treasures are assembled around the vast Israel Museum's indoor and outdoor galleries. Highlights are the titanic statues…

  • Ein Gedi spring in the Dead Sea area, Israel.; Shutterstock ID 110742899; Your name (First / Last): Lauren Keith; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Dead Sea Online Update

    Ein Gedi Nature Reserve

    23.94 MILES

    This reserve consists of two roughly parallel canyons, Wadi David and Wadi Arugot, each of which has its own entrance complex and ticket office. It is…

  • Saint Sabas (Arabic: Mar Saba) monastery, in the Judean desert on the southern cliffs of the Kidron creek.

    Mar Saba Monastery

    8.24 MILES

    A must-see on any journey through the Holy Land is Mar Saba Monastery, a bleak and beautiful 20km drive east of Bethlehem (beyond Beit Sahour).

  • Jerusalem, Israel

    City of David

    0.87 MILES

    As teeming with controversy as it is with ancient history, the City of David is one of Jerusalem's most active archaeological sites. The oldest part of…

  • 500px Photo ID: 69901347 - Memorial site at Yad Vashem.

    Yad Vashem

    2.94 MILES

    Israel's official memorial to the six million Jews who died at the hands of the Nazis is powerful, poignant and a masterpiece of design. The museum's name…

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