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The Christian Quarter makes up the northwest quadrant of the UNESCO World Heritage listed Old City of Jerusalem.
Introduction to the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem
The Christian Quarter of Jerusalem contains the most important Christian pilgrimage site in the world along with several other important historic sites and churches.
The main tourist entrance to the Christian Quarter is the Jaffa Gate. From there, it’s easy to access all of the attractions and churches in the area. The Armenian Quarter is immediately to the south of the gate.
Jaffa Gate
The Jaffa Gate is one of seven open gates to the Old City of Jerusalem. It provides immediate access to the Christian and Armenian Quarters.
The Jaffa Gate was built in 1538 by Ottoman Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent as part of the city walls. It has an L-shaped entry that was sealed with heavy doors. The gate is named after the port of Jaffa, an ancient city that has since been annexed by Tel Aviv. It opened to Jaffa and Hebron.
The section of the walls next to the Jaffa Gate was destroyed in 1898 to allow Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany a triumphal entrance to the Old City.
In the early 2000s, a plaza was built outside the gate. The plaza, which is heavily used by pedestrians, connects the Jaffa Gate to the Mamilla Mall.
Ottoman Structures at the Jaffa Gate
Two Ottoman structures were built around the gate that have since been demolished. They included a clock tower (1908-1922) and a fountain (1900-1921). Inscriptions in Arabic script above and near openings in the gate still survive.
There are also two Ottoman tombs hidden behind a fence next to the gate inside the city walls. They’re easy to miss if you don’t look carefully.
Shopping in the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem
The Christian Quarter of Jerusalem is full of shops selling souvenirs and religious items. The best streets for shopping are David Street, Christian Quarter Road, and around the Muristan complex.
Church of Saint John the Baptist
The Church of Saint John the Baptist, which is owned by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, sits in a courtyard between Christian Quarter Road and the Muristan complex. The entrance is hidden between shops on Christian Quarter Road, and it’s easy to miss if you aren’t looking closely.
The first church on the site was built sometime between 450 and 460 by Empress Aelia Eudocia, the wife of Roman Emperor Theodosius II. It was destroyed by the Sassanids in 614 and rebuilt shortly after by Patriarch Modestus.
In 1023, merchants from Amalfi and Salerno were granted permission to build a new church on top of the old church, which by then had sunk to three meters below ground level. It was administered by the Benedictines. The monastery around the church was used as a hospital by the Crusaders starting in 1099. The knights who were treated at the hospital and recovered formed the Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, also known as the Knights Hospitaller.
The Greek Orthodox acquired the Church of Saint John the Baptist at the end of the 15th century. It served as a mosque for a short time in the 16th century, but the Greek Orthodox recovered it shortly after. In the 19th century, the original structure underneath the church was cleared out and converted to a crypt and chapel. According to Greek Orthodox tradition, the head of St. John the Baptist was once kept there.
The church has a beautifully decorated iconostasis. There’s a long nave with three apses. The dome sits on four pillars, and the ceiling and columns are decorated with frescoes.
Roman Paving Stones
Further along Christian Quarter Road, there’s a section of Roman paving stones dating back to the 3rd and 4th century. A plaque on the road indicates they were discovered during renovations in 1977.
Monastery of Megali Panagia
The Monastery of Megali Panagia is located in an alley off Christian Quarter Road. It’s owned by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
The Monastery of Megali Panagia was built on the spot where the Virgin Mary watched the crucifixion of Jesus at Golgotha. It dates back to the reign of Patriarch Elias, between 494 and 516.
In the narthex of the church, there’s an icon of the Life-giving Spring of Constantinople, which is located in the Zeytinburnu district of Istanbul, Turkey.
The small church contains a wooden iconostasis. On the wall is a fresco depicting the Virgin Mary watching the crucifixion.
Reliquaries in the church contain the bones of several Orthodox saints, including St. Melania, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Charalambos, and St. Nektarios, among others. Near the reliquaries is an icon of the Virgin Hodegetria, which was said to be painted by St. Luke the Evangelist.
Also at the Monastery of Megali Panagia are the relics of a Muslim guard of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre named Emir Tounom, who witnessed the miracle of the cracked pillar. He was so impressed by what he saw, he uttered the phrases “great is the faith of the Greeks” and “behold the true faith”. It’s believed that Emir Tounom converted to Christianity and was later burned alive by the Ottomans in order to silence him.
Chapel of St. Melania
A steep stairway leads to a chapel underneath the church. The chapel is dedicated to St. Melania and also contains the tomb and cell of the saint.
St. Melania was born in Rome in 383 and was the granddaughter of St. Melania the Elder. She arrived in Jerusalem in 417 by way of Sicily and Alexandria. She died in 439.
Another steep stairway leads to the cell of St. Melania, which sits under the chapel. In the cell are chains the saint would use to hold herself down as she prayed.
Every night, when the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was closed, St. Melania would take a tunnel that led from the Monastery of Megali Panagia to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. She would spend the night praying at the Sepulchre and return to her cell in the morning before anyone arrived at the church.
Arch of the Virgin Mary
Along Christian Quarter Road to the west of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is covered in another post, is the Arch of the Virgin Mary. This arch, which is now closed, once marked the western entrance to the church during the Crusader period.
Mosque of Omar
Just south of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the Mosque of Omar. The current mosque was built by Al-Afdal ibn Salah ad-Din (1169-1229), one of the 17 sons of Saladin, in 1193. It’s closed to non-Muslims.
The first mosque was built east of the church, on the site Caliph Omar (579-644) prayed after the Siege of Jerusalem in 637. When Patriarch Sophronius (560-638) surrendered to Omar, he invited the Caliph to pray inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Omar didn’t want to set a precedent and endanger the church’s status as a Christian site, so he prayed on the steps to the east of the church.
The minaret is 15 meters (49 feet) high and was built before 1465 by the Mamluks. The mosque was renovated in the middle of the 19th century by Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid I.
Al-Khanqah al-Salahiyya Mosque
North of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the al-Khanqah al-Salahiyya Mosque. It’s situated on the former palace of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. The building was converted to a mosque shortly after the conquest of Jerusalem by Saladin in 1187. The minaret was built in 1417. The mosque is closed to non-Muslims.
Saidanagia Monastery
The Saidanagia Monastery is located near the mosque along an alley north of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It sits on the site of the home of St. Mary, the great-grandmother of Jesus. It was also the birthplace of St. Anna, Jesus’ grandmother and the mother of the Virgin Mary. The translation for Saidanagia Monastery comes from Arabic, meaning Grandmother’s Monastery.
The small church has a wooden iconostasis and a chapel to the left. There’s a small gift shop where visitors can buy religious items and icons. The monastery is owned by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
The Saidanagia Monastery contains a miraculous icon depicting four generations of Christ. St. Mary stands behind a chair in which St. Anna is sitting with the Virgin Mary in her lap, while Jesus sits in the Virgin Mary’s lap. The icon is kept in a niche protected by a fence. Many people leave tamata (votive offerings) on the fence.
The icon originally came to the monastery from Damascus. Someone took it and returned it to Damascus claiming it was stolen, but the icon miraculously reappeared at the Saidanagia Monastery in Jerusalem.
Muristan
The Muristan complex is a popular shopping area in the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem. It’s located outside the east gate to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Muristan is a based on the Persian word bimaristan, which means hospital. Pope Gregory the Great commissioned the first hospital on the site in 600 in order to treat Christian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land. The hospital was most likely destroyed in 614 by the Sassanids and restored in 629. In 800, Charlemagne enlarged the hospital and added a library. It was destroyed by Caliph Al Hakim in 1009, and the Crusaders replaced it with the monastery of the aforementioned Church of St. John the Baptist in 1099.
In 1868, Ottoman Sultan Abdülaziz gave the eastern half of the complex to Crown Prince Frederick William (later Frederick III of Germany and Prussia) and the western half to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The Germans built the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer between 1893 and 1898.
Aftimos Market
The Greek Orthodox built the Aftimos Market and rearranged the streets in 1903. In the center is a 19th century ornamental fountain decorated with the symbol of the Patriarchate. The Aftimos Market is famous for its leather goods, but several other souvenirs can also be found. There are also several restaurants in the area.
Church of the Redeemer
Next to the Muristan complex is the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer. It was built between 1893 and 1898 by German architect Paul Ferdinand Groth (1859-1955) following the designs of fellow German architect Friedrich Adler (1827-1908). The land was donated by Kaiser Wilhelm I. Kaiser Wilhelm II made a trip to Jerusalem to personally dedicate the church.
The Church of the Redeemer, which is the second Protestant church in Jerusalem, sits on the former site of the Church of Santa Maria Latina. Visitors can climb the bell tower and there’s an archaeological site underneath. The church was closed when we tried to visit.
Butcher’s Market
The Butcher’s Market (Souk Al Lakhamin in Arabic or Shuk ha-Katsavim in Hebrew) is the road between Muristan and the Cardo. In addition to the several butchers there are also fruit and vegetable shops. This street is very empty compared to streets with tourist shops and it’s a great place to witness local life.
