Gateway To Old City of Jerusalem Regains 'Crown'

The Damascus Gate in a 1887 print. Wikimedia Commons.

The Damascus Gate, the largest and most impressive gateway to the Old City of Jerusalem, has finally regained its magnificent "crown," Israel's Antiquities Authority announced on Tuesday.

Built atop the gate in 1538 by the sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, the "crown" was destroyed in 1967 during the fighting in the Six Day War.

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To restore all the decorations on Jerusalem's most picturesque and busiest gate, experts at the Conservation Department of the Israel Antiquities Authority (I.A.A.) used pictures taken at the beginning of the twentieth century when the British governed the city.

"Because of its beauty, Damascus Gate is the most documented of Jerusalem's city gates and its historical material and numerous photographs facilitated an accurate restoration of its appearance," Avi Mashiah, the project’s architect at the IAA, said in a statement.

The "crown" before (left) and after the restoration.Photo courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority

"Every single decoration, including all of its features, was studied and restored by us down to the smallest detail, in order to provide visitors to the gate as full and complete an experience as possible," Mashiah said.

The "crown" was secured to the core of the wall by means of eleven anchors.

"At the same time the decoration's four stones were completely restored, and its ceiling was covered again with stone slabs as it was in the past, based on the historical photographs," said the I.A.A.

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Located on the northwest side of Old Jerusalem, the Damascus Gate, also known as Shechem Gate or Nablus Gate, is so named because it is the beginning of the road toward the capital of Syria.

In Arabic, the two towered gate is known as Bab al-Amoud or "gate of the columns," after pillars that stood nearby in ancient times.

Conservation work on the entire length of the Old City walls and gates -- Zion Gate, Jaffa Gate, the New Gate and Damascus Gate -- began four years ago and is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.