Old City (Jerusalem).html



Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls[1]*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iii, vi
Reference	148
Region**	Jerusalem District[2]
Inscription history
Inscription	1981  (5th Session)
Endangered	1982-
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. ** Region as classified by UNESCO.

The Old City (Hebrew: העיר העתיקה‎, HaIr HaAtika, Arabic: البلدة القديمة‎, al-Balda al-Qadimah) is a 0.9 square kilometre (0.35 square mile) area within the modern city of Jerusalem.^[3] Until the 1860s this area constituted the entire city of Jerusalem. The Old City is home to several sites of key religious importance: the Temple Mount and its Western Wall for Jews, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christians, and the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque for Muslims.

Traditionally, the Old City has been divided into four quarters, although the current designations were introduced only in the 19th century.^[4] Today, the Old City is roughly divided into the Muslim Quarter, the Christian Quarter, the Jewish Quarter and the Armenian Quarter.

Jordan proposed the Old City to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site List in 1980.^[5] It was added to the List in 1981.^[6] In 1982, Jordan requested that it be added to the List of World Heritage Sites in danger.^[7]

History

Suleiman I, attributed to Titian c.1530

According to the Bible, before King David's conquest of Jerusalem in the 11th century BCE the city was home to the Jebusites. The Bible describes the city as heavily fortified with a strong city wall. The city ruled by King David, known as Ir David, or the City of David, is now believed to be southwest of the Old City walls, outside the Dung Gate. His son King Solomon extended the city walls and then, in about 440 BCE, in the Persian period, Nehemiah returned from Babylon and rebuilt them. In 41-44 CE, Agrippa, king of Judea, built a new city wall known as the "Third Wall."

In 1219 the walls of the city were razed by Mu'azzim Sultan of Damascus; in 1229, by treaty with Egypt, Jerusalem came into the hands of Frederick II of Germany. In 1239 he began to rebuild the walls; but they were again demolished by Da'ud, the emir of Kerak.

In 1243 Jerusalem came again under the control of the Christians, and the walls were repaired. The Kharezmian Tatars took the city in 1244 and Sultan Malik al-Muattam razed the city walls, rendering it again defenseless and dealing a heavy blow to the city's status.

The current walls of the Old City were built in 1538 by Suleiman the Magnificent. The walls stretch for approximately 4.5 kilometres, (2.8 miles), and rise to a height of 5–15 metres, (16–49 feet), with a thickness of 3 metres, (10 ft).^[8] Altogether, the Old City walls contain 43 surveillance towers and 11 gates, seven of which are presently open.

In a survey conducted by the American television program, 'Good Morning America' and the American newspaper 'USA Today,' Jerusalem's Old City was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

Quarters

Armenian Quarter

Main article: Armenian Quarter

The Armenian Quarter is the smallest of the four quarters of the Old City. Although the Armenian people are Christians, the Armenian Quarter is distinct from the Christian Quarter. Despite the small size and population of this quarter, the Armenians and their Patriarchate remain staunchly independent and form a vigorous presence in the Old City. After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the four quarters of the city came under Jordanian control. Jordanian law required Armenians and other Christians to “give equal time to the Bible and Qur'an” in private Christian schools, and restricted the expansion of church assets. The 1967 war is remembered by residents of the quarter as a miracle, after two unexploded bombs were found inside the Armenian monastery. Today more than 3,000 Armenians live in Jerusalem, 500 of them in the Armenian Quarter. Some are temporary residents studying at the seminary or working as church functionaries. The Patriarchate owns the land in this quarter as well as valuable property in West Jerusalem and elsewhere. In 1975, a theological seminary was established in the Armenian Quarter. After the 1967 war, the Israeli government gave compensation for repairing any churches or holy sites damaged in the fighting, regardless of who caused the damage.

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Christian Quarter

Main article: Christian Quarter

The Christian Quarter is situated in the north-western corner of the Old City, extending from the New Gate (see below) in the north, along the western wall of the Old City as far as the Jaffa Gate, along the Jaffa Gate - Western Wall route in the south, bordering on the Jewish and Armenian Quarters, as far as the Damascus Gate in the east, where it borders on the Muslim Quarter. The quarter contains the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of Christianity's holiest places.

Jewish Quarter

Western Wall and Dome of the Rock

Main article: Jewish Quarter

The Jewish Quarter (Hebrew: הרובע היהודי‎, HaRova HaYehudi or the Rova) lies in the southeastern sector of the walled city, and stretches from the Zion Gate in the south, along the Armenian Quarter on the west, up to the Cardo in the north and extends to the Western Wall and the Temple Mount in the east.The quarter has had a rich history, with a nearly continual Jewish presence since the eight century B.C.E. In 1948 its population of about 2,000 Jews was besieged, and forced to leave en masse. The quarter had been completely sacked by the Arabs, with ancient synagogues destroyed. The quarter remained under Transjordanian control until its capture by Israeli paratroops in the Six-Day War of 1967. The quarter has since been rebuilt and settled, and has a population of 2,348 (as of 2004),^[9] and many large educational institutions have taken up residence. Before being rebuilt, the quarter was carefully excavated under the supervision of Hebrew University archaeologist Nahman Avigad. The archaeological remains, on display in a series of museums and outdoor parks, to visit which tourists descend two or three stories beneath the level of the current city, collectively form one of the world's most accessible archaeological sites. The former Chief Rabbi is Rabbi Avigdor Nebenzahl, and current is his son Rabbi Chizkiyahu Nebenzahl who is on the faculty of Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh situated directly across from the Kotel.

Muslim Quarter

Main article: Muslim Quarter

The Muslim Quarter is the largest and most populous of the four quarters and is situated in the northeastern corner of the Old City, extending from the Lions' Gate in the east, along the northern wall of the Temple Mount in the south, to the Damascus Gate route in the west. Its population was 22,000 in 2005. Like the other three quarters of the Old City, the Muslim quarter had a mixed population of Jews as well as Muslims and Christians until the riots of 1929. Today 60 Jewish families live in the Muslim Quarter, and a few yeshivot are located there. The main one is Yeshivat Ateret Cohanim

Gates

During the era of the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, there were four gates to the Old City, one on each side. The current walls, built by Suleiman the Magnificent, have a total of eleven gates, but only seven are open. Until 1887, each gate was closed before sunset and opened at sunrise. As indicated by the chart below, these gates have been known by a variety of names used in different historic periods and by different community groups.

Open gates

Sealed gates

History of the gates

Jaffa Gate at dusk. The actual gate is on the left of the photo; the breach to the right is now used for vehicular traffic.

• Jaffa Gate

Next to Jaffa Gate is a breach in the wall that was opened to accommodate the entourage of the German emperor, Wilhelm II, in 1898. The ancient Roman gates (one large gate flanked by a small gate on each side) are visible below street level at the Damascus Gate.

• Lions' Gate

Legend has it that Suleiman dreamed he would be eaten by lions if he did not build the Old City walls. He ordered two lions carved above one of the gates to commemorate this dream. These lions are still visible today.

• New Gate

The New Gate dates from 1889, when the French Catholic clergy asked the sultan, Abdul Hamid II, to open the wall opposite the Notre Dame convent to facilitate access to the Christian Quarter. For 19 years, when east and west Jerusalem were divided, the New Gate was blocked up and the Jordanians built a military outpost above it.

• Huldah Gates

Visible from the Southern Wall excavations is a series of blocked gates called the Huldah Gates. Dating from the Herodian period, these gates (single, double and triple) were used by the throngs of pilgrims visiting the Second Temple. They were inside the city walls until Crusader times. The gates led to a series of tunnels beneath the Temple Mount. One gate was used to enter the Temple compound and the other to exit it. Today the Temple Mount is also accessible from gates inside the Old City, such as Bab el-Kattanin.

Virtual Tours

• Virtual tour of the Muslim Quarter
• Virtual tour of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
• Virtual tour of the Cardo
• Virtual tour of the Damascus gate
• Virtual tour of the Kotel

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Old City (Jerusalem)

• List of places in Jerusalem
• Defensive wall
• List of cities with defensive walls
• Gates of the Temple Mount
• Zedekiah's Cave

References

v • d • e World Heritage Sites in Israel Old City of Acre · Bahá’i Holy Places in Haifa and Western Galilee · Incense Route – Desert Cities in the Negev (Avdat, Haluza, Mamshit and Shivta) · Masada · Old City and Walls of Jerusalem† · Tel Be'er Sheva · Tel Hazor · Tel Megiddo · White City of Tel Aviv † Territorial status yet to be determined

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