Unlocking Jaffa Gate: Stories, Secrets, and Historical Symbols
Join tour guide Osher Nedivi on a journey through Jaffa Gate, one of the monumental entries in Jerusalem's ancient wall, built by the Ottomans 500 years ago.
- אושר נדיבי
- פורסם י"ז תמוז התשפ"ג
Jaffa Gate (Photo: Olivier Fitoussi, Flash 90) #VALUE!
![(Photo: Yossi Shneor)]()
(Photo: Yossi Shneor)![(Photo: Yossi Shneor)]()
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(Photo: Yossi Shneor)![(Photo: Yossi Shneor)]()
(Photo: Yossi Shneor)
According to the Mishnah in Tractate Ta'anit [Chapter 4, Mishnah 6], "Five calamities befell our ancestors on the seventeenth of Tammuz and five on the ninth of Av. On the seventeenth of Tammuz, the tablets were shattered, the daily offering was discontinued, the city was breached, Apostomos burned the Torah, and placed an idol in the sanctuary...".
On the surface, the Mishnah seems to contradict what's written in the Book of Jeremiah [52:6], "In the fourth month, on the ninth of the month, the famine was severe in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land; then the city was breached." The Talmud (Jerusalem Talmud, Tractate Ta'anit) explains that during the First Temple, the breach of the wall was also on the 17th of Tammuz, and the different date in the Book of Jeremiah is attributed to the confusion regarding dates due to the great tribulations over the generations, as the Talmud states, "There is a confusion in the calculations here."
In honor of the 17th of Tammuz, this article will explore one of the gates of Jerusalem's Old City – Jaffa Gate.
Building Walls: A Historic Feat
About 21 years after the Ottoman conquest of Jerusalem in 1517, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent ordered the construction of a wall around the city. This wall was to protect Jerusalem from invaders and signify its importance. Builders began constructing from multiple directions, using remnants of previous walls to expedite the process.
After approximately four and a half years of diligent work, the Ottomans completed the wall, which stretched about 4.5 kilometers. Seven gates were included: Damascus Gate – the first to be built, as indicated by inscriptions on the gates, Zion Gate, Golden Gate, Flowers Gate, Lions' Gate, Dung Gate, and Jaffa Gate. About 140 years ago, an additional gate, the New Gate, was opened to provide easier access for the Christian Quarter's residents to their institutions outside the wall. Researchers believe that at least some gates were constructed on the sites of earlier ones.
Jaffa Gate earned its name because it provided an exit westward from Jerusalem toward the city of Jaffa.
Every Symbol Tells a Story
When you look at the gate today, you can see several intriguing elements around it.
Facing the gate, you'll notice a recessed triangle on your left in the wall – a mark left by a store that existed there until the Six-Day War.
To the right of the gate, on the protrusion, is a triangle head embedded in the wall. These are the roof markers of the customs house that once stood here.
On the right of the entrance, about two courses above the ground, there is a sign of a horizontal line and three vertical stubs extending toward the ground. This is known as a benchmark – a surveying mark made by the British archaeological expedition led by Wilson in the 1860s (about 160 years ago). They came to Jerusalem to design a modern sewer system for the city, at a time when sewage flowed through its streets. To plan the system, they needed precise measurements, which led to the engraving of this sign. Similar markers can be found elsewhere around the walls and on Jaffa Street.
Upon entering the gate, note the left turn at a 90-degree angle – designed to delay potential invaders. Above the gate is a concrete protrusion known as "Mashiakuli" – according to researchers, this was for pouring boiling water and oil on those attempting to breach the gate.
(Photo: Yossi Shneor)About ten meters inside the Old City, on the left, you'll see two graves, the headstones adorned with sculptures of a tarboosh. Legend says these are the engineers of the wall, executed by the Sultan to ensure they wouldn't disclose its secrets to enemies or build such a beautiful wall elsewhere. Another version claims the engineers were punished for forgetting to include Mount Zion within Jerusalem's boundaries...
Additionally, research by Yosef Said Al-Natsheh from the "Institute for Palestine Studies" in the U.S. argues that according to late 16th-century Waqf documents, the plot belongs to the Al-Safti family, and those buried there are likely family members.
(Photo: Yossi Shneor)Looking back at the gate, you'll see on the left post the plaque marking Jaffa Gate. The name is written first in English, then Arabic, and finally Hebrew. This plaque dates to the British Mandate era, demonstrating the importance placed on each language by the Mandate authorities.
(Photo: Yossi Shneor)Standing to the left of the wall and looking left, you see a road for vehicles, and on the ground, a sunken brick line indicating where a wall once stood. Where did it go? In 1898, the German Emperor Wilhelm II visited Jerusalem. In preparation, the city was cleaned, street lamps were installed, and a trench was opened in the moat, filled with sand to extend Jaffa Street into the walled city, allowing the Emperor and his wife Augusta Victoria to enter without leaving their carriage. In contrast, when General Allenby entered Jerusalem in 1917, following its capture by British forces in World War I, he dismounted his horse as a sign of respect for the city.
Today, as we pass through the gate into a city continuously evolving, we can only smile at the past's remnants... They've passed, and we remain.
(Photo: Yossi Shneor)Osher Nedivi is a certified tour guide. For comments/questions, please contact: editor.nelech@gmail.com
