The Western Wall is one of Jerusalem’s most known sites, to Jewish, Israelis and visitors. It is the holiest site for Jews all over the world.

The part of the wall that is exposed is what is by most is referred to as The Western Wall. However, what we today can see is only a small section of a much larger wall that stretches for some 488 meters total. This larger wall is really the Western retaining wall to the Temple Mount, built by Herod  the Great, beginning 19 BCE.

What is commonly referred to as The Western Wall is 57 meter long and 19 meters high. There are a total of 45 courses of stone, 28 above present ground level, 17 below. These 17 courses plus 7 visible courses are the original stones from Herods retaining wall. The next four courses were added in the early Arab period (636-1099), the next 14 from the Ottoman period, and the last three were added in the 20th century. [Read more...]