Zion_Gate

Zion Gate

Zion Gate

Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem


Zion Gate (Hebrew: שער ציון, Sha'ar Zion, Arabic: باب صهيون, Bab Sahyun), also known in Arabic as Bab Harat al-Yahud ("Jewish Quarter Gate")[1] or Bab an-Nabi Dawud ("Prophet David Gate"), is one of the seven historic Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem.

Quick Facts General information, Town or city ...

History

Zion Gate was built in July 1540, west of the location of the medieval gate, which was a direct continuation of the Street of the Jews (also known as the Cardo). Six sentry towers were erected in the southern segment of the wall, four of them situated in the Mount Zion section.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, a leper colony, slaughter house and livestock market were situated in the vicinity of Zion Gate. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, shops were built along the length of the southern wall which were torn down during the British Mandate.[2]

On May 13, 1948, as the British Army withdrew from Jerusalem, a major from the Suffolk Regiment presented Mordechai Weingarten with the key for the Zion Gate.[3][4]

In 2008, restoration work was carried out on the gate, marking its 468th birthday.[5]

See also


References

  1. Johannes Pahlitzsch; Lorenz Korn (2004). Governing the Holy City: the interaction of social groups in Jerusalem between the Fatimid and the Ottoman period. Reichert. p. 122. ISBN 978-3-89500-404-9. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  2. Joseph, p.69: 'and a sten gun and ammunition'. Collins/Lapierre, p.10: 'a bar of rusted iron about a foot long.'
  3. This story was repeated by President George W. Bush in his address to the Knesset on the 60th-year anniversary of the creation of the State of Israel. 'a short iron bar'

Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Zion_Gate, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.