Jerusalem is known for all sorts of things – the centre of three great religions, geopolitical conflicts, the host of ancient civilisations and more.

This past few months have seen some additional titles enter the list.

Take Alberto Contador, who is known as a great champion cyclist, having won the Tour De France three times. Yesterday, he sped to triumph in the annual race around the Old City of Jerusalem, a few dense square miles which compactly includes the Wailing Wall, the Dome of the Rock and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Rarely can walls of the city, erected by the Turks hundreds of years back, have witnessed such an event.

And where did these guests stay? Well in a city not noted even by its residents for providing great service, two Jerusalem hotels have just been voted in the top ten of Middle East hotels. That is a great compliment for the Inbal (Laromme) and David Citadel establishments.

Personally, having suffered the traffic jams resulting from the bike race, I went to look for a place to eat with my wife. The old fruit and veg market, Machane Yehuda, has become a hotspot for boutique restaurants. As I had recently heard that a fish and chip cafe had opened up and as an ex-pat Brit, who still drinks his tea with milk, I had to investigate.

Now this place is something special. It is down a back alley. Poorly signposted. It looks like a hole in the wall. And it was great fun.

Not only was the batter made with beer – so rare to find these days. They did not even bother to give you cutlery. Yup old technology, also known as fingers and thumbs, was called upon. It was even well priced. Really yummy.

Here’s the irony. The owners displayed no signs of a cockney or a Yorkshire accent. Their roots are in deepest Morocco, and they served a great home made bean soup to prove it.

Jerusalem has been going for over 5,000 years. Tomorrow, the Sha’are Zedek hospital, the largest medical facility in the centre of the capital, celebrates its 110th anniversary with a gala concert. The hospital is run by and serves all the various ethnic groups in the city. It has several outreach programmes to Palestinians.

When you put together all the above anecdotes, you understand why the city should be around for many more years to come.