Two peoples, and three religions coexist on a small piece of land. Jerusalem for the Jews, Al-Quds for the Muslims, Jerusalem for the Christians. Coexistence is anything but harmonious, of course, but in a city which is sacred to all, there is a blend of cultures and ethnicities, which one is compelled to explore.

• The Old Town is a must-see, as within the Ottoman walls, the Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Armenian quarters all coexist.
• As far as pilgrimages are concerned, Christians walk up the Via Dolorosa between porticoed churches and rich gardens, until they reach the Holy Sepulcher. A passage through the Haram with its two imposing mosques, the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, is mandatory. Just outside this area is the Wailing Wall, where dozens of religious Jews gather every day to pray. One of the largest covered markets in the city is found when one passes the back door of the Holy Sepulcher. There, inside a shop, stand the ruins of the first church built during the reign of Emperor Constantine!
• Obviously, the modern city wins over visitors, with the exceptional museums. Visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, the Shrine of the Book with the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Museum on the Seam, which is dedicated to socio-political art and is housed in a bombed-out building in the armistice zone of the ’48 war.
• In the «must see» category, of course, is also the Mount of Olives, the garden of Gethsemeni, and of course the place where the Last Supper took place.
• The population of the city exceeds 900,000 inhabitants, the currency is the shekel and the languages spoken by the locals are Hebrew, Arabic and English.
• The city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Around it is the wall built in the first half of the 16th century by Suleiman the Magnificent, which is 4 kilometers long, has eight gates, seven of which are open.
• Key local cuisine to try are falafel, hummus and kiunefe…

All about Beitar

The stakes for PAOK in tomorrow’s second leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League 2nd qualifying round tie with Beitar Jerusalem are clear. The Double-headed Eagle meet their opponents on Thursday, August 3 at 20:30 (Novasports2) at the Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem following the 0-0 draw at the Toumba for a winner-takes-all prize at the Teddy Stadium which is sold out.

• Beitar Jerusalem was founded in 1936 by Shmuel Kirschstein and David Horn as a youth team. It played its first matches against Armenian and Arab teams in Jerusalem, although Hapoel Jerusalem boycotted it for political reasons.
• Its colors are yellow and black, it has won six Israeli championships, placed second six times, won eight Israeli cups, and was a finalist three more times. They have also won two Israeli Super Cups.
• Joined Intertoto in 1976 (2 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses. Beitar’s first competitive European match was a 1–1 draw with FC Zimbru Chişinău in the 1993–94 UEFA Champions League. The team has participated in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers five times, never advancing beyond the second qualifying round.
• Beitar were handed a three-point ban from the league and banned from the next cup due to their fans’ incidents in the Israel Cup final, which they won. Currently they are threatening to not participate in the upcoming championship. They also threatened to miss the Israeli Super Cup, however they did play in a 3–1 defeat by Maccabi Haifa on 22 July.
• Last season they finished eighth in the Israeli league, with 13 wins, 4 draws and 16 losses.
• The 53-year-old coach Josef Abukasis has been through six different teams, he has also served as an assistant coach in the Israel national team, while he was also an international midfielder as a player. He has even earned a place in the Israeli Football Hall of Fame.
• The club is said to have the largest number of fans in Israel (according to a 2019 survey), who are also considered the most passionate…

Τeddy Stadium

The man who associated his name and life with modern Jerusalem is Teddy Kolek. He was the mayor from 1965 to 1993, and it was him who helped build one of the most modern and ambitious plans for the regeneration and reconstruction of buildings in the city. The Teddy Stadium, the home of Beitar, built during Kolek’s tenure, is one of the newest and most beautiful stadiums in Israel and meets all European standards.

• It has 5,000 parking spaces and is connected to the Malha Mall and parking facilities by a footbridge.
• It is the headquarters of Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Jerusalem, and it hosts matches played by the Israel national team, as well as many other events such as concerts.
• Built in 1990, it has been renovated several times, has excellent acoustics and, after the addition of the north side, has 31,733 seats.
• It cost approximately $12,000,000.