Damascus Gate

the Amphitheater at the entrance to the Damascus Gate

The Damascus Gate (Hebrew: שַׁעַר שְׁכֶם, Sha'ar Sh'khem means Nablus Gate; and Arabic: باب العامود, Bab al-Amud, means the Gate of the Column) is the oldest gate of the of the Old City of Jerusalem. It was built in 1538 on a Roman gate that built before it. Inside the Old City, there was a round square before the gate with the Roman pillar that was the Kilometer Zero mark for measurements from Jerusalem to other cities. The pillar was destroyed and never found. But the Roman square with the gate was founded under the Damascus Gate. After the British Mandate of Palestine, the new Kilometer Zero was moved to the nearby Jaffa Gate. An ancient cave called Zedekiah's Cave is near the entrance to the gate. In the 2000s, a new amphitheater was built outside the entrance to the gate with 500 seats facing towards the front of the gate.

Other websites

• HD Virtual Tour of the Damascus Gate - December 2007 Archived 2017-11-27 at the Wayback Machine
• Holy Land Photos:"Damascus Gate"
• Israel Antiquities Authority