Though the History of the city spans 4,000 years, the present day Old City walls date only to the time of Sulemain the Magnificent. Having conquered the region in 1517, Sulemain set about restoring the walls and gates of the Old City. The task lasted from 1537 - 1542. He used the foundations of the Crusader city, lain hundreds of years previously, as the foundations for his walls. The diameter of the walls is 4 kilometers (2.14 miles) and the area of the Old City covers 1 square kilometer (about 2/5 square mile). Of the eight gates, the most ornate one is known as Damascaus gate (Sha'ar Schem in hebrew - Nablus gate). It is so named because it opens to the North; the road to Damascaus and Schem-Nablus. This gate is built directly over the remains of the Northern gate from the Second Temple period.

Herod's Gate, also called the Flower gate gets its name from Medieval pilgrims who believed that this gate is located near the house of Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great.

The Lions Gate gets its name from the stone relief lions which appear on either side of the portal. It is likely that these lions are remnants of the coat of arms of the Sultan Baybars who defeated the Crusaders in 1260. It is through this gate that Israeli forces reunited the city during the Six Day War of 1967.

The Gate of Mercy or the Golden Gate is the only one of the eight gates which is sealed shut! Tradition has it that the Messiah will make his way down the Mount of Olives and enter the Temple Mount through this Eastern gate. In order to bar his entry, and hopefully delay his arrival, non-believers sealed this gate hundreds of years ago.

The Dung Gate gets its name from the original Dung gate of Temple times at the botom of the Tyropean Valley from which the refuse and waste of the Temple and city exited.

Zion Gate leads to what is called Mt. Zion. In medieval times, this gate was referred to as the Gate of the Jews as it opens onto the Jewish Quarter. The Arabs call it the Gate of Nabi David, since the traditional grave of King David is reputed to located on Mt. Zion. Jaffa Gate opens to the West onto the road to Jaffa, the main entry point of the Land of Israel. The Arabs call this Bab el Khalil, or Hebron gate as it also opens onto the road to Hebron.

THE OLD CITY

Ancient Jerusalem
The Western Wall
The Herodian Quarter
The Cardo
The Citadel
Ophel Excavations
Broad Wall
Burnt House
Western Wall Tunnels

Synagogues
The Ramban Synagogue
The Hurva Synagogue
The 4 Sephardic Synagogues
The Tiferet Yisrael Synagogue