Jaffa Gate (1538)
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Jaffa Gate lies at one end of Jaffa Road, which leads to Highway 1, which in turn leads to Tel Aviv-Jaffa. In ancient times, too, Jaffa Road led to the port of Jaffa. Jaffa Gate was inaugurated in 1538 by Suleiman the Magnificent. Its name in Arabic, Bab el-Khalil (Gate of the Friend), refers to Abraham.
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Jaffa Gate, entrance for cars
Around the corner, cars enter the Old City through a wide gap in the wall. This passage was originally built in 1898 when Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany visited Jerusalem. The ruling Ottoman Turks agreed to open up the entrance so that the German Emperor would not have to dismount from his carriage to enter the city.
Jaffa Gate sign
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Apr 11, 2012 at 12:46 pm
That Kaiser was one lazy dude, wasn’t he? 🙂
J.C. Martin
A to Z Blogger
Apr 11, 2012 at 2:04 pm
Interesting story. I am a new follower from the A to Z challenge.
Apr 11, 2012 at 7:34 pm
Dismounting from one’s carriage can be a real challenge right? Interesting post. I loved the pictures.
Apr 12, 2012 at 12:51 pm
I loved visiting Jaffa Gate. For me it was one of the most evocative of all the places we visited. It’s a shame that it’s been opened up for cars (and Kaisers’ carriages!) but we walked through the gate and I’ve a photo of a bread seller beside the gate too. Lovely place.
Apr 12, 2012 at 9:32 pm
I love these photos – so beautiful! What a great idea for the Challenge. 🙂