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83-574: The Eastern Wall is the oldest of the four visible walls of the Temple Mount; the Northern, Western and Southern Walls date from the period of Herod the Great , who expanded the area of the Temple Mount to the north, west and south. Older walls on these sides are presumed to survive underground. The Eastern Wall now visible was built in at least four stages, possibly as early as the reign of Hezekiah , during

166-402: A charitable trust ( waqf ). The largest part of it was named after an important mystic, Abu Madyan Shu'aib . The Abu Madyan waqf was dedicated to Maghrebian pilgrims and scholars who had taken up residence there, and houses were built only metres away from the wall, from which they were thus separated by just a narrow passageway, some 4 metres (13 ft) wide. The first likely mention of

249-628: A Status Quo agreement issued by the mandatory authority forbade the placing of benches or chairs near the Wall. The last occurrence of such a ban was in 1915, but the Ottoman decree was soon retracted after intervention of the Chacham Bashi . In 1928 the District Commissioner of Jerusalem, Edward Keith-Roach , acceded to an Arab request to implement the ban. This led to a British officer being stationed at

332-747: A failed effort to purchase the Western Wall and lost all his assets. The attempts of the Palestine Land Development Company to purchase the environs of the Western Wall for the Jews just before the outbreak of World War I also never came to fruition. In the first two months following the Ottoman Empire's entry into the First World War, the Turkish governor of Jerusalem, Zakey Bey, offered to sell

415-470: A house near the Wall and paid men to stand guard there and at various other gateways around the mount. However, this set-up lasted only for a short time due to lack of funds or because of Arab resentment. In 1874, Mordechai Rosanes paid for the repaving of the alleyway adjacent to the wall. In 1887 Baron Rothschild conceived a plan to purchase and demolish the Moroccan Quarter as "a merit and honor to

498-416: A place of Jewish worship is from the 10th century. The Western Wall, in the narrow sense, i.e. referring to the section used for Jewish prayer, is also known as the "Wailing Wall", in reference to the practice of Jews weeping at the site. During the period of Christian Roman rule over Jerusalem (ca. 324–638), Jews were completely barred from Jerusalem except on Tisha B'Av , the day of national mourning for

581-488: A provocation by the Jews who prayed at the Wall. The Jews protested and tensions increased. A British inquiry into the disturbances and investigation regarding the principal issue in the Western Wall dispute, namely the rights of the Jewish worshipers to bring appurtenances to the wall, was convened. The Supreme Muslim Council provided documents dating from the Turkish regime supporting their claims. However, repeated reminders to

664-510: A series of measures to demonstrate the Arabs' exclusive claims to the Temple Mount and its environs. He ordered new construction next to and above the Western Wall. The British granted the Arabs permission to convert a building adjoining the Wall into a mosque and to add a minaret. A muezzin was appointed to perform the Islamic call to prayer and Sufi rites directly next to the Wall. These were seen as

747-549: A statement that "We herewith declare emphatically and sincerely that no Jew has ever thought of encroaching upon the rights of Moslems over their own Holy places, but our Arab brethren should also recognise the rights of Jews in regard to the places in Palestine which are holy to them." The committee also demanded that the British administration expropriate the wall for the Jews. From October 1928 onward, Mufti Amin al-Husayni organised

830-712: Is an ancient retaining wall of the built-up hill known to Jews and Christians as the Temple Mount of Jerusalem . Its most famous section, known by the same name, often shortened by Jews to the Kotel or Kosel , is known in the West as the Wailing Wall , and in Islam as the Buraq Wall ( Arabic : حَائِط ٱلْبُرَاق, Ḥā'iṭ al-Burāq ['ħaːʔɪtˤ albʊ'raːq] ). In a Jewish religious context,

913-566: Is believed to have been begun by Herod the Great . The very large stone blocks of the lower courses are Herodian, the courses of medium-sized stones above them were added during the Umayyad period , while the small stones of the uppermost courses are of more recent date, especially from the Ottoman period . The Western Wall plays an important role in Judaism due to it being part of the man-made "Temple Mount", an artificially expanded hilltop best known as

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996-524: Is called the Gate of Mercy, and hither come all the Jews to pray before the Wall in the open court." The account gave rise to confusion about the actual location of Jewish worship, and some suggest that Benjamin in fact referred to the Eastern Wall along with its Gate of Mercy . While Nahmanides (d. 1270) did not mention a synagogue near the Western Wall in his detailed account of the temple site, shortly before

1079-505: Is framed by fine-chiseled borders. The margins themselves measure between 5 and 20 centimetres (2 and 8 in) wide, with their depth measuring 1.5 centimetres (0.59 in). In the Herodian period, the upper 10 metres (33 ft) of wall were 1 metre (39 in) thick and served as the outer wall of the double colonnade of the Temple platform. This upper section was decorated with pilasters ,

1162-525: Is known as the Temple Mount in the 10th century BCE and destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE, and the Second Temple completed and dedicated in 516 BCE. Around 19 BCE Herod the Great began a massive expansion project on the Temple Mount. In addition to fully rebuilding and enlarging the Temple, he artificially expanded the platform on which it stood, doubling it in size. Today's Western Wall formed part of

1245-772: Is located north of the Golden Gate. There is a Muslim cemetery along the southern stretch of the Eastern Wall. A path through the cemetery and parallel to the wall lies atop the ancient city wall, explored by Charles Warren in excavations since covered over, which once lay just outside the Eastern Wall of the Temple Mount. Gates 1. Jaffa 2. Zion 3. Dung 4. Golden 5. Lions 6. Herod 7. Damascus 8. New ( Double, Single, Tanners ' ) Al-Mawazin Western Wall The Western Wall ( Hebrew : הַכּוֹתֶל הַמַּעֲרָבִי , romanized :  HaKotel HaMa'aravi , lit.   'the western wall',

1328-514: Is separated from the prayer area by just a narrow stretch of archaeological remains; and another, much shorter section, known as the Little Western Wall , which is located close to the Iron Gate . The entire western wall functions as a retaining wall, supporting and enclosing the ample substructures built by Herod the Great around 19 BCE. Herod's project was to create an artificial extension to

1411-509: The 1948 Arab–Israeli War the eastern portion of Jerusalem was occupied by Jordan. Under Jordanian control Jews were completely expelled from the Old City including the Jewish Quarter , and Jews were barred from entering the Old City for 19 years, effectively banning Jewish prayer at the site of the Western Wall. This period ended on June 10, 1967, when Israel gained control of the site following

1494-506: The Crusader period a synagogue existed at the site. Obadiah of Bertinoro (1488) states "the Western Wall, part of which is still standing, is made of great, thick stones, larger than any I have seen in buildings of antiquity in Rome or in other lands." Shortly after Saladin 's 1187 siege of the city , in 1193, the sultan's son and successor al-Afdal established the land adjacent to the wall as

1577-522: The Kidron Valley along the line where the Eastern Wall stands. The Hasmonean dynasty expanded the 500 cubit Temple platform toward the south; distinctively Hasmonean ashlars are visible in the Eastern Wall. The seam between the Hasmonean and Herodian extensions of the wall, known as the "straight joint", is visible as a vertical row of ashlars 32 meters north of the southeast corner. King Herod expanded

1660-518: The Six-Day War . Three days after establishing control over the Western Wall site, the Moroccan Quarter was bulldozed by Israeli authorities to create space for what is now the Western Wall plaza. Early Jewish texts referred to a "western wall of the Temple", but there is doubt whether the texts were referring to the outer, retaining wall called today "the Western Wall", or to the western wall of

1743-518: The gates of the Old City of Jerusalem . The gates are visible on most old maps of Jerusalem over the last 1,500 years. During different periods, the city walls followed different outlines and had a varying number of gates. During the era of the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (1099–1291), Jerusalem had four gates, one on each side. The current walls of the Old City of Jerusalem were built between 1533 and 1540 on orders of Ottoman Sultan Suleiman

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1826-623: The minyan which he led there for years. He also formulated a plan whereby some of the courtyards facing the Wall would be acquired, with the intention of establishing three synagogues—one each for the Sephardim , the Hasidim and the Perushim . He also endeavoured to re-establish an ancient practice of "guards of honour", which according to the mishnah in Middot , were positioned around the Temple Mount. He rented

1909-455: The monumental staircase leading up to it could not have been completed during Herod's lifetime. Also surprising was the fact that the usually very thorough Herodian builders had cut corners by filling in the ritual bath, rather than placing the foundation course directly onto the much firmer bedrock. Some scholars are doubtful of the interpretation and have offered alternative explanations, such as, for example, later repair work. Herod's Temple

1992-582: The southern wall . In 1517, the Turkish Ottomans under Selim I conquered Jerusalem from the Mamluks who had held it since 1250. Selim's son, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent , ordered the construction of an imposing wall to be built around the entire city, which still stands today. Various folktales relate Suleiman's quest to locate the Temple site and his order to have the area "swept and sprinkled, and

2075-477: The status quo and instructed that Jews could only bring "those accessories which had been permitted in Turkish times." A few months later, Haj Amin complained to Chancellor that "Jews were bringing benches and tables in increased numbers to the wall and driving nails into the wall and hanging lamps on them." In the summer of 1929, the Mufti Haj Amin Al Husseinni ordered an opening be made at

2158-697: The underground Warren's Gate , which has been out of reach for Jews from the 12th century till its partial excavation in the 20th century. The entire Western Wall constitutes the western border of al-Haram al-Sharif ("the Noble Sanctuary"), or the Al-Aqsa compound. It is believed to be the site where the Islamic Prophet Muhammad tied his winged steed, the Burāq , on his Night Journey , which tradition connects to Jerusalem, before ascending to heaven. While

2241-617: The 6th Century B.C.E. in the Temple of Eshmun and Pasargadae . He dates them, on the basis of Biblical texts, to the period of King Hezekiah . More such stones are supposed to survive underground. According to Hershel Shanks , "most scholars," think that Ritmeyer is "correct." Ritmeyer has pointed out that the Dome of the Rock is seated on a square platform atop the Temple Mount, the sides of which, defined by short flights of steps, are square and parallel to

2324-734: The Chief Rabbinate to verify which apparatus had been permitted failed to elicit any response. They refused to do so, arguing that Jews had the right to pray at the Wall without restrictions. Subsequently, in November 1928, the Government issued a White Paper entitled "The Western or Wailing Wall in Jerusalem: Memorandum by the Secretary of State for the Colonies", which emphasised the maintenance of

2407-475: The Golden Gate by Suleiman, the number of operational gates was only brought back to seven in 1887, with the addition of the New Gate . Until 1887, each gate was closed before sunset and opened at sunrise. The seven gates at the time of Suleiman were: Damascus Gate ; Golden Gate ; Herod's Gate ; Jaffa Gate ; Lions' Gate ; Silwan Gate (also known as Mughrabi Gate, and now as Dung Gate) ; and Zion Gate . After

2490-735: The Herodian period . This section of wall is built from enormous meleke limestone blocks , possibly quarried at either Zedekiah's Cave situated under the Muslim Quarter of the Old City , or at Ramat Shlomo 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) northwest of the Old City. Most of them weigh between 2 and 8 short tons (1.8 and 7.3 tonnes ) each, but others weigh even more, with one extraordinary stone located slightly north of Wilson's Arch measuring 13.55 metres (44.5 ft) long, 3.3 metres (11 ft) high, approximately 1.8 to 2.5 metres (5.9 to 8.2 ft) deep, and weighing between 250 and 300 tonnes (280 and 330 short tons). Each of these ashlars

2573-621: The Islamic tradition that Buraq was tethered at the site is from the 14th century. A manuscript by Ibrahim b. Ishaq al-Ansari (known as Ibn Furkah, d. 1328) refers to Bab al-Nabi (lit. "Gate of the Prophet"), an old name for Barclay's Gate below the Maghrebi Gate. Charles D. Matthews however, who edited al-Firkah's work, notes that other statements of al-Firkah might seem to point to the Double Gate in

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2656-630: The Jewish People." The proposed purchase was considered and approved by the Ottoman Governor of Jerusalem, Rauf Pasha, and by the Mufti of Jerusalem, Mohammed Tahir Husseini . Even after permission was obtained from the highest secular and Muslim religious authority to proceed, the transaction was shelved after the authorities insisted that after demolishing the quarter no construction of any type could take place there, only trees could be planted to beautify

2739-525: The Jewish commercial area of town, and was followed a few days later by the Hebron massacre . One hundred and thirty-three Jews were killed and 339 injured in the Arab riots, and in the subsequent process of quelling the riots 110 Arabs were killed by British police. This was by far the deadliest attack on Jews during the period of British Rule over Palestine. Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem This article lists

2822-562: The Jewish practice of coming to the site to mourn and bemoan the destruction of the Temple and the loss of national freedom it symbolized. Jews may often be seen sitting for hours at the Wailing-place bent in sorrowful meditation over the history of their race, and repeating oftentimes the words of the Seventy-ninth Psalm. On Fridays especially, Jews of both sexes, of all ages, and from all countries, assemble in large numbers to kiss

2905-525: The Jews encountered great difficulty in buying the right to pray near the Western Wall, at least on the 9th of Av. In 425 CE, the Jews of the Galilee wrote to Byzantine empress Aelia Eudocia seeking permission to pray by the ruins of the Temple. Permission was granted and they were officially permitted to resettle in Jerusalem. Discovery of underground rooms that could have been used as food storage carved out of

2988-697: The Maghrebi waqf , which included the wall, with the plan of eventually buying it. Negotiations were begun in secret by the Jewish judge Gad Frumkin , with financial backing from American millionaire Nathan Straus . The chairman of the Palestine Zionist Executive, Colonel F. H. Kisch , explained that the aim was "quietly to evacuate the Moroccan occupants of those houses which it would later be necessary to demolish" to create an open space with seats for aged worshippers to sit on. However, Straus withdrew when

3071-462: The Magnificent , who provided them with seven gates: six new gates were built, and the older and previously sealed Golden Gate was reopened (only to be re-sealed again after a few years). The seven gates at the time of Suleiman were, clockwise and by their current name: the Damascus Gate ; Herod's Gate ; Lions' Gate ; Golden Gate ; Dung Gate ; Zion Gate ; and Jaffa Gate . With the re-sealing of

3154-540: The Moroccan Quarter, which consisted of about 25 houses, to the Jews in order to enlarge the area available to them for prayer. He requested a sum of £20,000 which would be used to both rehouse the Muslim families and to create a public garden in front of the Wall. However, the Jews of the city lacked the necessary funds. A few months later, under Muslim Arab pressure on the Turkish authorities in Jerusalem, Jews became forbidden by official decree to place benches and light candles at

3237-448: The Mount, in his the underground structure he labeled as No. 29 in surveys he carried out in the 1860s. The south eastern corner of the 500-cubit ancient platform square is marked by a visible bend in the eastern wall, at the point where a round column protruding from the wall near the top. Ritmeyer proposes that this 500 cubit walled square was constructed by King Hezekiah c. 700 BCE to expand

3320-532: The Sultan of Constantinople that the approach shall not be denied to us, though the Porte obtains for this privilege a special tax, which is, however, quite insignificant. Over time the increased numbers of people gathering at the site resulted in tensions between the Jewish visitors who wanted easier access and more space, and the residents, who complained of the noise. This gave rise to Jewish attempts at gaining ownership of

3403-510: The Temple Mount itself. When the empire started becoming Christian under Constantine I , they were given permission to enter the city once a year, on the Tisha B'Av , to lament the loss of the Temple at the wall. The Bordeaux Pilgrim , who wrote in 333 CE, suggests that it was probably to the perforated stone or the Rock of Moriah, "to which the Jews come every year and anoint it, bewail themselves with groans, rend their garments, and so depart".This

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3486-432: The Temple Mount still further toward the south; distinctively Herodian ashlars are visible in the Eastern Wall, in the last stretch before the southeastern corner. The magnificent Muslim period Golden Gate (sealed) replaced the ancient Golden Gate. The present gate is understood to have been constructed during the Umayyad period atop the ancient footings. Lions' Gate is the second gate in the Eastern Wall of Jerusalem, it

3569-534: The Temples. The term "Wailing Wall" has historically been used mainly by Christians, with use by Jews becoming marginal. Of the entire retaining wall, the section ritually used by Jews now faces a large plaza in the Jewish Quarter, near the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount, while the rest of the wall is concealed behind structures in the Muslim Quarter , with the small exception of an 8-metre (26 ft) section,

3652-614: The Tribes, St. Mary's Gate (باب ستي مريم, Bab Sittna Maryam ) שער יפו باب الخليل Porta Davidi שער ציון باب النبي داود השער החדש الباب الجديد A smaller entrance, popularly known as the Tanners' Gate , has been opened for visitors after being discovered and unsealed during excavations in the 1990s. Sealed historic gates, other than the Golden Gate, comprise three that are at least partially preserved (the Single, Triple, and Double Gates in

3735-648: The Turks. Allenby pledged "that every sacred building, monument, holy spot, shrine, traditional site, endowment, pious bequest, or customary place of prayer of whatsoever form of the three religions will be maintained and protected according to the existing customs and beliefs of those to whose faith they are sacred". In 1919 Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann approached the British Military Governor of Jerusalem, Colonel Sir Ronald Storrs , and offered between £75,000 and £100,000 (approx. £5m in modern terms) to purchase

3818-489: The Wall making sure that Jews were prevented from sitting. Nor were Jews permitted to separate the sexes with a screen. In practice, a flexible modus vivendi had emerged and such screens had been put up from time to time when large numbers of people gathered to pray. On September 24, 1928, the Day of Atonement , British police resorted to removing by force a screen used to separate men and women at prayer. Women who tried to prevent

3901-505: The Wall, 6,000 Jews demonstrated in Tel Aviv, shouting "The Wall is ours." The next day, the Jewish fast of Tisha B'Av , 300 youths raised the Zionist flag and sang Hatikva at the Wall. The day after, on August 16, an organized mob of 2,000 Muslim Arabs descended on the Western Wall, injuring the beadle and burning prayer books, liturgical fixtures and notes of supplication. The rioting spread to

3984-422: The Wall. This sour turn in relations was taken up by the Chacham Bashi who managed to get the ban overturned. In 1915 it was reported that Djemal Pasha, closed off the wall to visitation as a sanitary measure. Probably meant was the " Great ", rather than the " Small " Djemal Pasha. Decrees ( firman )s issued regarding the Wall: In December 1917, Allied forces under Edmund Allenby captured Jerusalem from

4067-401: The Western Wall area. He informed the Jewish community that the removal had been carried out under his orders after receiving a complaint from the Supreme Muslim Council . The Arabs were concerned that the Jews were trying to extend their rights at the wall and with this move, ultimately intended to take possession of the Masjid Al-Aqsa . The British government issued an announcement explaining

4150-524: The Western Wall washed with rosewater" upon its discovery. According to a legend cited by Moses Hagiz , Jews received official permission to worship at the site and Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan built an oratory for them there, but, as of Purim 1625, Jews were banned from praying on the Temple Mount and only sometimes dared to pray at the Western Wall, for which purpose a special liturgy had been arranged. Gedaliah of Siemiatycze , who lived in Jerusalem from 1700 to 1706, reports that Jews then had access to

4233-448: The actual Temple. The earliest Jewish use of the Hebrew term " ha-kotel ha-ma'aravi ", "the Western Wall", as referring to the wall visible today, was by the 11th-century poet Ahimaaz ben Paltiel . The name "Wailing Wall", and descriptions such as "wailing place", appeared regularly in English literature during the 19th century. The name Mur des Lamentations was used in French and Klagemauer in German. This description stemmed from

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4316-431: The area at the foot of the Wall and rehouse the occupants. Storrs was enthusiastic about the idea because he hoped some of the money would be used to improve Muslim education. Although they appeared promising at first, negotiations broke down after strong Muslim opposition. Storrs wrote two decades later: The acceptance of the proposals, had it been practicable, would have obviated years of wretched humiliations, including

4399-471: The area. Additionally the Jews would not have full control over the area. This meant that they would have no power to stop people from using the plaza for various activities, including the driving of mules, which would cause a disturbance to worshippers. Other reports place the scheme's failure on Jewish infighting as to whether the plan would foster a detrimental Arab reaction. In 1895 Hebrew linguist and publisher Rabbi Chaim Hirschensohn became entangled in

4482-410: The bedrock under the 1,400-year-old mosaic floor of Byzantine structure was announced by Israel Antiquities Authority in May in 2020. "At first we were very disappointed because we found we hit the bedrock, meaning that the material culture, the human activity here in Jerusalem ended. What we found here was a rock-cut system—three rooms, all hewn in the bedrock of ancient Jerusalem" said co-director of

4565-449: The befouling of the Wall and pavement and the unmannerly braying of the tragi-comic Arab band during Jewish prayer, and culminating in the horrible outrages of 1929. In early 1920, the first Jewish-Arab dispute over the Wall occurred when the Muslim authorities were carrying out minor repair works to the Wall's upper courses. The Jews, while agreeing that the works were necessary, appealed to the British that they be made under supervision of

4648-439: The desecration of the holy site. Various communal leaders called for a general strike. A large rally was held in the Etz Chaim Yeshiva , following which an angry crowd attacked the local police station in which they believed Douglas Valder Duff , the British officer involved, was sheltering. Commissioner Edward Keith-Roach described the screen as violating the Ottoman status quo that forbade Jews from making any construction in

4731-413: The entire wall by the time of his death in 4 BCE. The find confirms the description by historian Josephus Flavius , which states that construction was finished only during the reign of King Agrippa II , Herod's great-grandson. Given Josephus' information, the surprise mainly regarded the fact that an unfinished retaining wall in this area could also mean that at least parts of the splendid Royal Stoa and

4814-423: The excavation Barak Monnickendam-Givon. Several Jewish authors of the 10th and 11th centuries write about the Jews resorting to the Western Wall for devotional purposes. Ahimaaz relates that Samuel ben Paltiel (980–1010) gave money for oil at "the sanctuary at the Western Wall." Benjamin of Tudela (1170) wrote "In front of this place is the western wall, which is one of the walls of the Holy of Holies. This

4897-437: The flat area in which the faithful could gather at the Solomonic-era Temple. The Foundation Stone around which is the ancient Jewish Temple was built and which is now sheltered under the Dome of the Rock, is a natural rock outcrop at the highest point of a Mount Moriah ; the natural contour of the land fell away steeply on all sides, although on the eastern side the natural contour formed a flat plateau before falling sharply to

4980-473: The incident and blaming the Jewish beadle at the Wall. It stressed that the removal of the screen was necessary, but expressed regret over the ensuing events. A widespread Arab campaign to protest against presumed Jewish intentions and designs to take possession of the Al Aqsa Mosque swept the country and a "Society for the Protection of the Muslim Holy Places" was established. The Jewish National Council (Vaad Leumi) responding to these Arab fears declared in

5063-417: The land adjacent to the Wall. In the late 1830s a wealthy Jew named Shemarya Luria attempted to purchase houses near the Wall, but was unsuccessful, as was Jewish sage Abdullah of Bombay who tried to purchase the Western Wall in the 1850s. In 1869 Rabbi Hillel Moshe Gelbstein settled in Jerusalem. He arranged that benches and tables be brought to the Wall on a daily basis for the study groups he organised and

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5146-418: The mid-19th century records: This wall is visited by all our brothers on every feast and festival; and the large space at its foot is often so densely filled up, that all cannot perform their devotions here at the same time. It is also visited, though by less numbers, on every Friday afternoon, and by some nearly every day. No one is molested in these visits by the Mahomedans, as we have a very old firman from

5229-405: The modern Temple Mount, with this step the outline of the western side of the square and the Eastern Wall the eastern side. The "precise" measurement of an ancient Judean royal cubit , 20.67 inches, outlines these landmarks area exactly. The northern edge of the ancient square was demarcated by Charles Warren , the last archaeologist permitted by the local waqf to explore the underground areas of

5312-410: The modern walls of the Mount with one exception: the western steps deviate from parallel. Moreover, the bottom step on the western side of the Dome of the Rock platform is composed of a single line of distinctively large and "beautifully polished" ashlars. According to Ritmeyer, the measurements given in the Mishna , tractate Middot, "The Temple Mount measured 500 cubits by 500 cubits," can be traced on

5395-404: The newly formed Department of Antiquities, because the Wall was an ancient relic. According to Hillel Halkin, in the 1920s, among rising tensions with the Jews regarding the wall, the Arabs ceased using the more traditional name El-Mabka, "the Place of Weeping", which related to Jewish practices, and replaced it with El-Burak, a name with Muslim connotations. In 1926 an effort was made to lease

5478-486: The price became excessive and the plan came to nothing. The Va'ad Leumi , against the advice of the Palestine Zionist Executive, demanded that the British expropriate the wall and give it to the Jews, but the British refused. In 1928 the World Zionist Organization reported that John Chancellor , High Commissioner of Palestine, believed that the Western Wall should come under Jewish control and wondered "why no great Jewish philanthropist had not bought it yet". In 1922,

5561-406: The re-sealing of the Golden Gate already in Suleiman's time, the number of operational gates was only brought back to seven with the addition of the New Gate in 1887. שער הרחמים "Gate Of Mercy" باب الذهبي שער שכם "Nablus Gate" باب العمود שער הפרחים "Gate Of The Flowers" باب الساهرة שער האשפות "Gate Of Trash" باب المغاربة שער האריות باب الأسباط St. Stephen's Gate, Gate of

5644-418: The remainder of which were destroyed when the Byzantines reconquered Jerusalem from the Persians in 628. The next four courses, consisting of smaller plainly dressed stones, are Umayyad work (8th century, Early Muslim period). Above that are 16 to 17 courses of small stones from the Mamluk period (13th–16th centuries) and later. According to the Hebrew Bible , Solomon's Temple was built atop what

5727-465: The retaining perimeter wall of this platform. In 2011, Israeli archaeologists announced the surprising discovery of Roman coins minted well after Herod's death, found under the foundation stones of the wall. The excavators came upon the coins inside a ritual bath that predates Herod's building project, which was filled in to create an even base for the wall and was located under its southern section. This seems to indicate that Herod did not finish building

5810-406: The sacred stones and weep outside the precincts they may not enter. Charles Wilson, 1881 Muslims have associated the name Al-Buraq with the wall at least since the 1860s. The term Western Wall commonly refers to a 187-foot (57 m) exposed section of a much longer retaining wall, built by Herod on the western flank of the Temple Mount . Only when used in this sense is it synonymous with

5893-457: The screen being dismantled were beaten by the police, who used pieces of the broken wooden frame as clubs. Chairs were then pulled out from under elderly worshipers. The episode made international news and Jews the world over objected to the British action. Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld , the Chief Rabbi of the ultraorthodox Jews in Jerusalem, issued a protest letter on behalf of his community, the Edah HaChareidis , and Agudas Yisroel strongly condemning

5976-741: The small quasi-natural plateau on which the First Temple stood, already widened in Hasmonean times during the Second Temple period, by finally transforming it into the almost rectangular, wide expanse of the Temple Mount platform visible today. At the Western Wall Plaza, the total height of the Wall from its foundation is estimated at 105 feet (32 m), with the above-ground section standing approximately 62 feet (19 m) high. The Wall consists of 45 stone courses, 28 of them above ground and 17 underground. The first seven above-ground layers are from

6059-451: The so-called " Little Western Wall " or "Small Wailing Wall". This segment of the western retaining wall derives particular importance from having never been fully obscured by medieval buildings, and displaying much of the original Herodian stonework . In religious terms, the "Little Western Wall" is presumed to be even closer to the Holy of Holies and thus to the "presence of God" ( Shechina ), and

6142-475: The southern end of the alleyway which straddled the Wall. The former cul-de-sac became a thoroughfare which led from the Temple Mount into the prayer area at the Wall. Mules were herded through the narrow alley, often dropping excrement. This, together with other construction projects in the vicinity, and restricted access to the Wall, resulted in Jewish protests to the British, who remained indifferent. On August 14, 1929, after attacks on individual Jews praying at

6225-521: The term Wailing Wall. This section faces a large plaza and is set aside for prayer. In its entirety, the western retaining wall of the Herodian Temple Mount complex stretches for 1,600 feet (488 m), most of which is hidden behind medieval residential structures built along its length. There are only two other revealed sections: the southern part of the Wall (see Robinson's Arch area ), which measures approximately 80 metres (262 ft), and

6308-415: The term Western Wall and its variations is used in the narrow sense, for the section used for Jewish prayer; in its broader sense it refers to the entire 488-metre-long (1,601 ft) retaining wall on the western side of the Temple Mount. At the prayer section, just over half the wall's total height, including its 17 courses located below street level, dates from the end of the Second Temple period , and

6391-559: The time of Zerubbabel , in the Hasmonean period and in the Herodian period. Repairs and major renovations were made in later periods. Major renovations to the Golden Gate were made in the Umayyad period. Architectural archaeologist Leen Ritmeyer identifies specific courses of visible ashlars located on to the northern and south of the Golden Gate as earlier than the Hasmonean and Herodian ashlars, comparing them to similar stones of

6474-640: The traditional site of the Jewish Temple . Because of the Temple Mount entry restrictions , the Wall is the holiest place where Jews are permitted to pray outside the Temple Mount platform, because the presumed site of the Holy of Holies , the most sacred site in the Jewish faith, presumably lies just above and behind it. The original, natural, and irregular-shaped Temple Mount was gradually extended to allow for an ever-larger Temple compound to be built at its top. The earliest source possibly mentioning this specific site as

6557-528: The wall and would pray there as often as possible. Over the centuries, land close to the Wall became built up. Public access to the Wall was through the Moroccan Quarter , a labyrinth of narrow alleyways. In May 1840 a firman issued by Ibrahim Pasha forbade the Jews to pave the passageway in front of the Wall. It also cautioned them against "raising their voices and displaying their books there." They were, however, allowed "to pay visits to it as of old." Rabbi Joseph Schwarz  [ he ] writing in

6640-406: The wall became a source of friction between the Jewish and Muslim communities, the latter being worried that the wall could be used to further Jewish claims to the Temple Mount and thus Jerusalem. During this period outbreaks of violence at the foot of the wall became commonplace, with a particularly deadly riot in 1929 in which 133 Jews and 116 Arabs were killed, with many more people injured. After

6723-612: The wall was considered an integral part of the Haram esh-Sharif and waqf property of the Moroccan Quarter under Muslim rule, a right of Jewish prayer and pilgrimage has long existed as part of the Status Quo regulations. This position was confirmed in a 1930 international commission during the British Mandate period. With the rise of the Zionist movement in the early 20th century,

6806-456: Was because an imperial decree from Rome barred Jews from living in Jerusalem. Just once per year they were permitted to return and bitterly grieve about the fate of their people. Comparable accounts survive, including those by the Church Father, Gregory of Nazianzus (c. 329–390) and by Jerome in his commentary to Zephaniah written in 392 CE. In the 4th century, Christian sources reveal that

6889-736: Was destroyed by the Romans , along with the rest of Jerusalem, in 70 CE, during the First Jewish–Roman War . During much of the 2nd–5th centuries of the Common Era , after the Roman defeat of the Bar Kokhba revolt in 135 CE, Jews were banned from Jerusalem. There is some evidence that Roman emperors in the 2nd and 3rd centuries did permit them to visit the city to worship on the Mount of Olives and sometimes on

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