The last most important place in Palestine is the city where Christ died—Jerusalem. Christians call it their Holy City. But, strangely enough, the Mohammedans call it their Holy City too, and it was once the capitalof the Jews. Mohammed lived about six hundred years later than Christ, and Mohammedans believe some of the same things about Mohammed that Christians believe about Christ. Mohammed was supposed to have died in Jerusalem and to have ascended into Heaven from there. The Moslems captured Jerusalem and kept hold of it for morethan a thousand years. During that long time the Christians have tried time and again to get Jerusalem away from the Moslems. Time and time again the Christians from all over Europe formed armies and marched on Jerusalem, trying to take it away from the Moslems, but they were usually beaten; and though they have held thecity for a time, the Moslems have always recaptured it, until at last in World War I the English captured Jerusalem.
Jerusalem has probably been destroyed and built up again more times than any other city in the World. King David built Jerusalem about a thousand years before Christ was born. Then Solomon built his magnificent temple there, but not very long afterward Jerusalem was captured and destroyed. Every once in a while Jerusalem has been captured and destroyed and then built up again, so that they say there are really eight Jerusalems, one on top of the remains of the other. That is one reason why it is impossible to know "the exact spots" where so many things mentioned in the Bible took place.