In the shops of Jerusalem, empty seats and anguished hearts are all that's left

Once-bustling streets are now almost empty in the Old City of Jerusalem on Nov. 8. (Ayman Oghanna for NPR)

JERUSALEM — The Old City of Jerusalem is thousands of years old. People from all over the world travel here to see the expansive history and the foundation of religions and empires — until now.

Today, walking around the Old City feels like a ghost town. In the Jewish Quarter, your voice echoes off the stone-covered paths and shut businesses. And it's having a very real impact. According to Israel's tourism minister, before the war began between Israel and Hamas, about 15,000 tourists a day entered Israel. On Oct. 30, there were just 26 tourists for the entire country.