Damascus Gate

Blipping from Jerusalem (and happy we will stay until tomorrow..*bliss*)

Steamy day in Jerusalem, i found myself here in front of Damascus Gate. It is one of the 8 gates in the Old City, Jerusalem. According to Wikipedia, the modern gate was built 1542 by the Ottoman ruler Suleiman the Magnificent.

The original gate was presumably built in Second Temple times. The Romans built a new gate at the time of Hadrian, in the second century AD. In front of the gate stood a Roman victory column, thus giving the gate its name in Arabic to this day, Bab el-Amud, The Column Gate. The column has never been found, but the Roman gate can be seen today, due to excavations made during the British mandate. This was the northern entrance gate to the city at the time of the Crusades.

While the proper English name of the gate is "Damascus Gate", in Hebrew it is called Sha'ar Shechem, meaning "Shechem (Nablus) Gate". In either case, the name refers to a city north of Jerusalem, since the Damascus Gate is the main north-facing gate of the Old City.

I wish i could photograph each and every gate to complete the 8 but I think it will take a long time since I cannot stay here in Jerusalem for weeks because I am based in Tel-aviv. But I will not mind an hour of bus travel to get here. This place is fascinating. The warm weather, the blue sky and the old shrines, the people from different religions and from all walks of life, the smell of Pita and Hummus..ahhh Jerusalem, I will forever keep you in my memories.