Traveling with the Travers: The Cardo - The Heart of Jerusalem

Riding To Hebrew School Off the Cardo - Old City Jerusalem

During our three day stay in Jerusalem, we walked through the Cardo many times. The Cardo is the main street that divides Jerusalem and runs North and South. It cuts right through the heart, pun intended, of the city. The Cardo was the lifeline in Roman times, and was originally built as a thoroughfare lined with vendors and shops of all kinds.

After the Jewish Rebellion was crushed by Hadrian in 130 A.D. and Jerusalem was destroyed, Hadrian built a Roman colony in its place. He devised the Cardo as the main thoroughfare running from the Damascus Gate in the North to some point in the south. It was originally paved and was as wide as a six lane highway is today. An addition to the Cardo was constructed by Justinian in the 6th century and extended the Cardo further southward to connect the Church of the Holy Sepulcher with the newly built Zion Gate. Its most stunning visual features were the covered colonnades flanking each side of the road. These colonnades provided shaded porticos from the sun and protection from the rain for pedestrians shopping along this market path. It was a gathering place for residents and visitors, while the wide, open, paved street in the middle allowed for transportation and easy commercial access. The earliest map of Jerusalem, seen in a mosaic on the floor of a church in Madaba, Jordan, clearly shows the colonnaded cardo.

Cardo Shown Running Through the Center of Jerusalem

On the Earliest Map of Jerusalem Found in Mosaic on Floor of Church in Madaba, Jordan

Learning About the Cardo, Its History and Architecture

Portion of Cardo Excavated in Jewish Quarter of the Old City

Christopher, a Poor Beggar, in the Cardo Ruins

In the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem, archaeologists have been hard at work excavating the Old City. They have found portions of the original Cardo, though it is several feet below the current street level of today. While they were excavating underneath, uncovering the treasures of their history, they were also simultaneously building shops and housing above ground. The combination of the old preserved and the new fashioned in the characteristics of the old, make this town simply lovely! I enjoyed my walks through the Cardo and will remember it as one of my favorite experiences of my trip to Israel. The Cardo takes you through the different ethnic quarters of the Old City; the Jewish Quarter, the Armenian Quarter, the Muslim Quarter, and the Christian Quarter. The Cardo today continues as a major thoroughfare housing markets, vendors, restaurants, and stores that sell a little bit of everything imaginable! My loves of watching people, studying different cultures, learning about history, understanding other religions, and shopping for a bargain were all fulfilled in the Cardo!

In the pictures below, I have included scenes from our escapades walking the Cardo and visiting the different Quarters of the City. They are in no particular order, just a hodge-podge of our wonderful experiences.