Jerusalem as a Sacred Place

What elements and characteristics define sacred places? Mircea Eliade writes in the The Sacred and the Profane that "Man becomes aware of the sacred because it manifests itself, shows itself, as something wholly different from the profane." (p.11) So what characteristics make Jerusalem, arguably the most sacred location in the world, wholly different? One characteristic is definitely its geographic features. Jerusalem is located between the Mediterranean Sea and the desert. In addition, Jerusalem is a central meeting of three continents (Europe, Africa, and Asia). Communication routes, such as the Via Maris and the King's Highway help to make places such as Jerusalem more sacred. Another defining element is Jerusalem's topography. It's valleys (the Kidron Valley, the Hinnon Valley, and the Tyropean Valley) as well as the surrounding mountains were strategic military defensive techniques and helped foster prosperity.

One of the most important characteristics of almost every sacred location is water. Water is a precious resource which is vital to life and also to the survival of a civilization.  Water's rarity in Jerusalem and the Middle East is evident in numerous passages such as those from Genesis 2, Ezekiel 47, Revelation, and the Quran. As soon as Jerusalem solved the water crisis and dug tunnels to direct the water, civilization blossomed. A final important characteristic of a sacred space is the necessity to explain a phenomenon. Jerusalem's most prominent example of this sensation of the Dome of the Rock, where Islamic tradition believes that Muhammad ascended into heaven. Accounts such as these heavily increase the sacredness of a place.