Drawing: The Israel Museum, Jerusalem / by Balage

The Jaffa Gate was the main entrance to the city for those arriving from the Coastal region in the West and from the area of Bethlehem and Hebron in the South. Near it were two of Jerusalem’s most important aqueducts, and a large bathhouse and several workshops have been excavated close by. The road leading up to the gate was lined with shops, and the square situated just outside it was undoubtedly filled with vendors’ stalls, the site of lively commercial activity.
Literary sources relate that monks who served at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher resided in this area. Inside the city, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Nea Church, and the Sion Church can be seen.

Reconstruction and Surrounding of the Damascus Gate during the Byzantine period

Drawing: The Israel Museum, Jerusalem / by Balage

Jerusalem has always been most easily accessed from the North, where the approach is relatively level. In over a century of excavations conducted along the road leading to the Damascus Gate, the remains of numerous buildings have been uncovered, among them monasteries and hospices used by pilgrims.

Back to the top

In the Days of Jesus |In the Early Church |Pilgrimage |Images & Symbols |Monasticism in the Holy Land