Description of the attraction
The walls and gates of the Old Town are not only a monument, but also an observation deck four kilometers long. You can walk along the walls and admire the views of Jerusalem: from every point it looks new, and the roofs of the Old City are within arm's reach.
The oldest walls of Jerusalem date back to the Bronze Age - their remains were found above the tunnel of Hezekiah. They were built by kings David and Solomon, expanded by Herod the Great. But the fortifications did not save Jerusalem in 70 AD - the Romans destroyed the city to the ground along with the bastions.
The current walls were erected in 1535–38. Jerusalem was then part of the Ottoman Empire, ruled by the great warrior Suleiman the Magnificent. The Sultan erected fortifications 12 meters high. Thirty-four watchtowers controlled the area. Eight gates provided entry and exit. The gates were also administrative centers: near them transactions were made, the court was held.
The oldest, the Golden (their second name is the Gates of Mercy), were built around 520 and led directly to the Temple Mount. Tradition says that it is through them that the Messiah must again enter the city. To prevent this from happening, under Suleiman the Magnificent, they were walled up.
The most famous gate is Jaffa, through which most tourists enter the Old City. Belief says that through them the last conqueror will enter Jerusalem. In 1917, the British commander, General Allenby, out of respect for the city he had taken, marched through the Jaffa Gate on foot.
The Zion Gates of the 16th century are located on the border of the Armenian and Jewish quarters. During the 1948 War of Independence, there were fierce battles with Jordanian troops. In the 1967 Six Day War, Israeli paratroopers broke through to the Temple Mount through the Lion's Gate, built in 1539.
About the same age and the current Garbage (Dung) gates, which are mentioned, however, in the Old Testament (in the book of Nehemiah). They were destroyed to the ground and repaired over the course of millennia, until the same Suleiman the Magnificent built the final, current version.
Three gates face to the north: on the border of the Christian and Muslim quarters - Damascus, to the west - New, the youngest, built by the Turks in 1889 to facilitate access for pilgrims to the shrines of the Christian quarter, to the east - Herod's gate. It was here in 1099 that the crusaders demonstrated how reliable Jerusalem needed fortifications: the knights of Gottfried of Bouillon broke through the wall and burst into the city.
The walls and gates of Jerusalem have hardly changed since the time of Suleiman, when the Janissaries walked on them. Now tourists are walking along a narrow footpath on which two people cannot part ways. On the one hand, there is a stone wall with loopholes, on the other, a railing. There are two routes along the walls: the northern, from Jaffa to the Lion's Gate, and the southern, from the Tower of David to the Garbage. At the end of the southern route, you can go down the wall (but be careful, the steps are very steep) and continue the excursion in the Jewish Quarter.
