Jerusalem throughout its history was a walled city. Something that started changing, when the first housing project, Mishkenot Ha’Shaananim, was built by the British Jewish philanthropist Moses Montefiore in 1860.

To enter or exit any walled city, there must be gates. And Jerusalem has for the last 130 years had seven open gates and one closed one. There are two additional closed gates, or rather remains, that go back to the Herodian Temple Mount. One new open gate came into being some 15 years ago, when the remains of a much earlier Dung Gate was discovered and reopened.

Almost all of the gates date back to the last time the walls of Jerusalem were built, which happened around 1536 under the orders of the Turkish Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent. Some of them were built on top of older gates, others came into being somewhat later. There are stories attached to each gate, which will be told in brief here. [Read more...]