Gates of Jerusalem
The gates of Jerusalem were built in the early 16th century by the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in the city walls. Today, there are eights gates in total and apart from one, all of them still serve this holy city. Four of the gates of Jerusalem face the cardinal directions; the Damascus Gate to the north, the Golden Gate to the east, the Zion Gate to the south, and the Jaffa Gate to the west. The remaining gates are the Herods Gate, the Lion Gate, the Dung Gate, and the New Gate.
Zion Gate
Zion Gate leads to the Armenian and Jewish quarters. In Arabic it is called the Bab Nebi Daud (Gate of Prophet David). It got its name because Prophet David’s tomb is very close to this gate.
During the Crusader conquest under Godfrey in 1099 AD, Raymond the Count of Toulouse, the richest of the Crusader commanders, led a force that laid siege to the Zion Gate. Very visible, this gate bears the bullet marks of 1948 War.
Dung Gate
Dung Gate’s unusual name of this gate derives from the refuse dumped here in antiquity. This gate leads directly to the Western Wall and it gives access to tourists to Temple Mount.
The Dung Gate has also been called The Gate of Moors, after the 16th century North African immigrant neighborhood located next to the gate. It has also been called the Magrabi Gate after the Magrabi-Arab Quarter nearby. The Dung Gate has been in use since the First Temple Period, during the days of king Solomon in the tenth century B.C.
Golden Gate
The Golden Gate is also called the Door of Mercy (Bab al-Rahma), a cemetery with the same name is next to this gate. It is also called the Eastern Gate and it faces the Mount of Olives. This gate had been close for more than 1,000 years. It is believed that the Messiah (Jesus) will enter through this gate.
Scholars debate whether the gate, in its present form, was built in the 6th or 7th century AD, or it was the last architecture of the Byzantine emperors, or the first of the Arab conquerors. Some believe the Golden Gate may have been built in 520 AD as part of Justinian I’s building projects in Jerusalem.
Lion's Gate
Lion’s Gate in the old city walls of Jerusalem leads to the Muslim Quarter. It is also called Stephen’s Gate. There are two lions on the exterior of the gate hence it gives the name to this gate. In reality these are tigers and they are the heraldic symbol of the 13th-century Sultan Beybars.
The gate was originally built with an L-shaped structure, similar to the other Ottoman gates of Jerusalem. However, this L-shaped structure was later altered in order to allow vehicle access.
Herod's Gate
Herod’s Gate is also called Flowers Gate, in arabic this gate is called Bab el-Zahar. Herods Gate was named so because it was once believed to have led to a structure erroneously identified by Christians as king Herod’s Palace. The flower gate name derives from the floral designs in its architecture. In this area of the city walls, the Crusaders penetrated the walls to capture the city in 1099.
Damascus Gate
Damascus Gate is built on northern side of the city. After entering through this gate, one comes into an Arab market offers fresh fruit and vegetables. It is a bustling hub for Muslim population of the city. The Damascus Gate was completed between 1537 – 1542 by the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Only at this gate among all others, the walls of Jerusalem are decorated at the top.
New Gate
The Gate was built to allow easy access from the many Christian monasteries outside the walls to the Christian Quarter within. New gate of Jerusalem wasn’t planned in the original design of the city walls. Around 1887, the French ambassador in Turkey asked the Sultan Abdul Hammid II if he would consider building a gate to bridge the two communities. The Sultan kindly agreed, and yet another of the gates of Jerusalem surrounding the Old City was built
Jaffa Gate
Jaffa Gate got its name because Jewish and Christian pilgrims used to disembark at the Jaffa port when coming to Jerusalem through this gate. In Arabic it is called, Bab el-Khalil because this gate faces Hebron (Al-Khalil). The Crusader name for the Jaffa Gate was Forte David.
This gate leads to the Jewish and Christian quarters of the city. The beside the gate is known as the Omar Ibn al-Khattab Square.
The Roman army camped on the site in 70 AD as they laid siege to Jerusalem. They would eventually destroy the city and the Temple, burning, murdering and looting at will. The site was an Arab fortress in 638 AD. Godfrey of Buillon took up positions near the Jaffa Gate as the Crusaders conquered Jerusalem in 1099 AD.
