Nine Quarters of Jerusalem: A New Biography of the Old City

(Paperback, Main)

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'Original and illuminating ... what a good book this is' - Jonathan Dimbleby

'A love letter to the people of the Old City' -Jerusalem Post

In Jerusalem, what you see and what is true are two different things. Maps divide the walled Old City into four quarters, yet that division doesn't reflect the reality of mixed and diverse neighbourhoods. Beyond the crush and frenzy of its major religious sites, much of the Old City remains little known to visitors, its people overlooked and their stories untold. Nine Quarters of Jerusalem lets the communities of the Old City speak for themselves. Ranging through ancient past and political present, it evokes the city's depth and cultural diversity.

Matthew Teller's highly original 'biography' features the Old City's Palestinian and Jewish communities, but also spotlights its Indian and African populations, its Greek and Armenian and Syriac cultures, its downtrodden Dom Gypsy families and its Sufi mystics. It discusses the sources of Jerusalem's holiness and the ideas - often startlingly secular - that have shaped lives within its walls. Nine Quarters of Jerusalem is an evocation of place through story, led by the voices of Jerusalemites.

Reviews

'Highly perceptive and readable ... combines millennia of Jerusalem's history with insightful interviews with its residents, weaponising that unusual approach to present a subtle portrait of the current reality at the heart of the world's most intractable and divisive conflict ... fascinating' - Ian Black

'Vivid ... as much about the present as the past' - Rachel Cooke

'As labyrinthine as the city it describes ... a curious, offbeat biography that comes alive through the many gathered voices' - The Critic

'Acute social analysis ... an engrossing travelogue ... vibrant' - Catholic Herald

'Illuminating and deeply researched ... there is a wealth of stories here' - Geographical Magazine

Author Bio

Matthew Teller is an author, journalist and documentary-maker. He writes for the BBC, CNN, The Times, Financial Times, Independent and Guardian and presents and produces documentaries for Radio 4 and BBC World Service. He is a regular on 'From Our Own Correspondent' programme, reporting from around the Middle East and beyond. He has been visiting Jerusalem since childhood.