The Roman gate was still in use during the Byzantine and early Islamic periods. During the Crusader period, the fortifications were breached and rebuilt following the city's takeover. Damascus Gate, one of the three gates in the northern wall, remained the principal access to that side of the city. It was here that merchants displayed their merchandise for sale.
In modern times, visitors enter through Mughrabi Bridge, which connects the Old City with Beit Hanina. The entrance is on the eastern side of the bridge, opposite Sultan Suleiman Road. A passage next to the Damascus Gate leads into Muhayar Square, which is surrounded by restaurants and shops. There are also several churches including St. Paul's Cathedral, which was built by the British in 1873-1875 to replace an earlier structure that had been destroyed by Muslims during a riot in 1838. The new cathedral was designed in Gothic style with elements of Romanesque architecture.
Damascus Gate is often referred to as the "Door of Damascus" because it was from here that Syrian merchants would trade with travelers coming from far away. They would sell them food and other necessities at low prices since there were no stores back then. After traveling down the Silk Road between China and Europe, the goods would be shipped back home again.
The gate is placed on the Temple Mount's eastern wall's northern third. The current gate was most likely erected in the 520s AD as part of Justinian I's Jerusalem construction program, on top of the ruins of an older gate in the wall. It is a single column with a round head carved out of the rock and topped by a flat roof. The interior walls are covered with inscriptions.
The gate was included in Arab plans to destroy the Jewish Quarter after Israel's victory in the 1967 Six Day War but it wasn't actually destroyed until 2014. It was closed during that time for security reasons.
In March 2015, following several months of restoration work, the gate re-opened to visitors.
It is said that if you walk through the gate, God will help you.
The name of the gate is derived from the word "Qubbet es-Sakhra" which means "the first part of the temple compound that can be seen from the city". This refers to the fact that priests would enter the holy area through this gate before entering the inner court of the temple.
Today, Jews are allowed to visit the Temple Mount but not to pray there. Only the Western Wall, where Jews are permitted to pray, is within the borders of the Old City.
The gates of ancient towns were vital for giving access while preserving security. The Bible mentions the gates of Jerusalem several times in various settings. They are important clues in helping us understand the city's defenses at the time of its conquest by the Romans in 70 CE.
The five original gates of Jerusalem were Babilonia, Ephraim, Benjamin, Zion, and Lebanon. Today, only two of those gates remain: the Old City walls that have been preserved over the centuries serve as evidence of the existence of the other three gates at one time. However, during the Crusader period (1099-1291), new gates were built to replace those destroyed by Sultan Saladin in 1187. These later "modern" gates include the North Gate, South Gate, and New Gate which replaced the old Ottoman fortifications that still exist today near the Tower of David and Siloam Pool.
The term "gate" here refers not to a door but to an entranceway protected by a gatehouse. A person who lived nearby would say that you can go through the North Gate into the city.
The gates of Jerusalem served three main purposes. First, they provided a way of securing the city against attack.
The ancient city is encircled by 4.5-kilometer-long (2.8-mile) thick walls, which are pierced by seven medieval gates. Muslims later erected the eighth gate. Within the walls is a grid of streets with names such as Mu'ayyad al-Shami and Shams al-Din al-Damighali. The quarters inside the walls are Uluburun, Mazra'a, Old City, New City, and Al-Zahrani. The total area within the walls is about 16 square kilometers (6 square miles).
Walls like those of Damascus have been built for over 1,000 years. A wall was originally built to protect against invaders from outside the city but eventually served as protection against rebels inside the city as well.
The walls of Damascus were built using rubble mixed with clay and straw and then coated in white lime to form a hard shell. They were originally about 30 feet high but now stand at nearly 40 feet due to erosion caused by rain and wind.
They still stand today even though much of Damascus has been destroyed over time. Areas that have been excavated show that houses once stood within the walls but not anymore because all that's left today are the foundations that date back hundreds of years.
The Archaeological Sites of Jerusalem: The Old City Gates The Jaffa Gate. Suleiman erected the Jaffa Gate in 1538 as the principal entrance to the Old City. Bab el-Halil, or Hebron Gate, means "The Beloved" in Arabic and relates to Abraham, God's beloved who is buried in Hebron. It was built by Sultan Suleiman I in 1538. The Zion Gate was originally called the North Gate and it was located where David St. now stands. It was renamed after the city of Zion, which in Hebrew is Shekhina - the female divine presence. This gate was destroyed during the Crusader period. The South Gate was also called the Golden Gate because of its gold-plated woodwork. It was built in 1187 by King Henry II of England.
These are the five gates that stood in Jerusalem when Christ died and rose again on the third day. Today, they remain as the oldest monuments in the world!
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