This is one of the structural openings that are part of the wall enclosing Old Jerusalem. This spot gets its name because it is the way you would go to the capital of Syria. It is approximately 135 miles away ( or 220 kilometers.) It faced the north.

This location also serves as the main entrance into East Jerusalem. By far it is more interesting than many other places in the old town. I many ways, it is the beginning of what one might call a microcosm of the Palestinian world. In this location, vendors bring goods to and from the Old City, family’s still have picnics, and life continues much the way it has for years upon years. Yet, on the steps of the buildings, you can find Israeli soldiers standing guard. You can become quite taken with the sales people there also, selling their herbs, produce and the like. The women are famous for the wearing of their embroidered dresses that are a part of their dowry and identity.

The structure has remained pretty much intact since the time of Süleyman the Magnificent. He also happens to be the person who oversaw the gate's construction between 1537 and 1542. The present size, though, was the result of work commissioned by Roman emperor Hadrian. There was a column that once stood here. This old structure gave birth to the other name for this place: Bab al-Amud (Gate of the Column).

Herod's Gate is located in the wall surrounding the Old City. It attaches to the Muslim Quarter. There is a lovely Arab neighborhood close by, called Bab a-Zahara, which is a variation on the name for the famous opening.

It terms of age, this is one of the newest gates in the town. Suleiman the Magnificent built the wall. a small opening was built in front of the old gate. It almost never got used. By the year 1875, the Turkish Army closed made a more permanent passage. This was mainly done to allow access to the local streets and homes which were built a little further out.

This place gets its name from Herod the Great. During the time of the Crusaders, it was believed that Antipas had a house in that same location. This inspired the medieval knights to even found a church close by. The Dir Al Ads house of prayer has been been built on the original location.

In rather recent times (1998-2004) there has been a lot of archaeological digging in this area, which to date has unveiled nine different levels of history where the gates played an important role in the defense of the northern part of the Jerusalem wall. There are artifacts that have come from this spot that range in dates from the Iron Age up to the Ottoman Empire.

The Lion’s Gate gets its name after the pairs of these stone animals that have been carved into the design. It is reported in legend that Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, who built the walls around the Old City in the 16th century, dreamed about lions who were about to devour him, because he had failed to make sure that the defenses for this part of the citadel were secure.

After waking up from the terrible dream, he ordered the walls to be built and the lions to be placed at the city’s gate. There is some speculation that the carvings are actually of panthers. In this case, they may represent the animals in the crest of the Mameluke sultan Baybars. So, the structure may originally have been part of an older building.

The structure has also been called “ Bab Sitt Maryam.” It gets its name from Mary, the mother of Jesus. Legend has it that she has been laid to rest somewhere around the Kidron Valley. In Christian tradition and lore, the gate is for St. Stephen, the first martyr of the new faith, who was stoned to death. On Palm Sunday, you can still come and watch the procession of the people, which recreates the historical route of Jesus from Scripture, come from the Mount into the Old City.

The Arabic name for the gate is meshikuli, In more modern terms, it means a small opening in a door or wall. In days gone by, it was used to watch people coming towards a gate, in case of attack. One could also pour boiling oil or tar down upon enemies from such a place.

The Golden Gate, as it is called in Christian literature, is the oldest of the current gates in Jerusalem's Old City Walls. According to Jewish tradition, the Shekhinah (Divine Presence) used to appear through this gate, and will appear again when the Messiah comes and a new gate replaces the present one; that is why Jews used to pray for mercy at the
former gate at this location. The gate is located in the middle of the eastern side of the Temple Mount. The portal in this position was believed to have been used for ritual purposes in biblical times. The Golden Gate is one of the few sealed gates in Jerusalem's Old City Walls, along with the Huldah Gates, and a small Biblical and Crusader-era postern located several stories above ground on the southern side of the eastern wall.

The Single Gate is sealed and the Jews believe that the Messiah will pass into the city here. It was built before the Ottoman period and leads to the basement of the Temple Mount.

The Huldah Gates are the two sets of now-blocked gates in the south wall of the Temple Mount, situated in Jerusalem's Old City. The western set is a double arched gate (the double gate), and the eastern is a triple arched gate (the triple gate). Each arch of the double gate led into an aisle of a passageway leading from the gate into the Mount, and to steps leading to the Mount's surface; when the al-Aqsa Mosque was built, the old steps were blocked, and the eastern aisle lengthened so that new steps from its end would exit north of the Mosque. The 19th century excavations of the area by Charles Warren discovered an erratic series of passageways under the triple gate, some leading below the wall and beyond the Mount's southern edge. The passageways from both gates are now used by the waqf as mosques.

The Double Gate is sealed. It used to lead to Solomon's Stables, that are breathtaking underground constructions built with enormous stones. People believe that Solomon would not have been able to build them without the help of supernatural forces.

This famous location also goes by the name of Shaar Zion, or Bab Sahyun. The locals also call it the "Jewish Quarter Gate. It is one of eight gates that were built into the walls of the Old City.

It is built into the south side of the wall, facing Mount Zion and Hebron. As the Arab name for this structure implies, it leads directly into the Armenian and Jewish Quarters. It is also sometimes called David's Gate. And if the legends are true about the famous king being buried on Mt. Zion, then the name fits well.

The famous southern gate constructed by order of Suleiman the Magnificent. It was built circa 1540. During the 19th century, the location became famous as a gathering place of lepers. In 1948, some of the underground forces of the Jewish people repatriated the Jewish Quarter by means of this opening into the town. The stones in the walls and homes here are chipped from the battle. The holes made during the conflict are still visible today. When the last of the British troops left Jerusalem on May 13, 1948, Mordechai Weingarten was presented with a key to the gate. Up until this time, Jordan controlled the location.

In current times, pedestrians and cars of all kinds use the opening, although getting a vehicle through the L shaped opening is almost impossible. Today, it is a one way road, only leading into the city, because two way traffic simply became too dangerous.

Jaffa Gate is a stone portal in the historic walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. Jaffa Gate was inaugurated in 1538 as part of the rebuilding of the Old City walls by Suleiman the Magnificent. It is one of eight gates in Jerusalem's Old City walls. Jaffa Gate is the only one of the Old City gates positioned at a right angle to the wall. Like the stones used for the rest of the Old City walls, the stones of Jaffa Gate are large, hewn, sand-colored blocks. The entryway stands about 20 feet (6 meters) high, and the wall rises another 20 feet above that. Just inside the gate, behind an iron grating on the left, lie two tombs. These are believed to be the graves of the two architects whom Suleiman commissioned to construct the Old City walls. According to legend, when Suleiman saw that the architects had left Mount Zion and the tomb of King David out of the enclosure, he ordered them killed.