A map of the Old City.
The Old City is the original Biblical city of Jerusalem. Many of the most important holy sites in Judaism are located in it, including Mount Moriah the Temple Mount, the Western Wall, Hezekiah's Tunnel and Robinson's Arch.
Throughout the years of war and sieges in Jerusalem, the Old City's Jewish character always survived. In 70 CE, Jews were banished from Jerusalem and Israel by the Romans, many other nations came later, claiming the city.
In 1948 when the State of Israel was founded, Jews were not allowed to enter the Old City as it was under the control of the nation of Jordan. As a result, Israel declared the New City of Jerusalem as its capital. In 1967 when Jordan enterted the Six-Day War, the Israelis attacked Old Jerusalem and Jews reclaimed the city for the first time in over two thousand years.
The Old City of Jerusalem's Jewish character had been slowly eroded during the many centuries that Arab Muslimshad been living there, at one point the Western Wall had been used as a rubbish dump. Since 1967, Israel has rebuilt the Old City.