The Damascus Gate

   For many believers, the way to the Wailing Wall leads through the Damascus Gate and the Arab quarter. The most elaborate and beautiful entry into the Old City is the Damascus Gate on the northern wall. Directly underneath the Damascus Gate, archeologists discovered the northern gateway of the Roman Aelia Capitolina. On the outside, wide rows of steps lead down to a beautiful, spacious plaza which was used as a meeting place and as a market place in which vendors sold and displayed their goods.

The road to Damascus used to begin here, hence the name. This route leads through the town of Nablus. The gate is called Nablus Gate (Sha'ar Shekhem) in Hebrew. In the Christian tradition, St. Stephen was said to have been martyred outside this gate which has also at times carried the name of the saint as the St. Stephen's Gate.

36" X 24" Acrylic on Canvas Painting

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