Synagogue, visible from most parts of the Jewish Quarter, marks Hurva Sq. a con-
venient reference point for Jewish Quarter sights.
After being exiled when the Second Temple was destroyed, Jews settled here
again when they returned to Jerusalem in the 15th century. The Jewish community
grew from 2000 in 1800 to 11,000 in 1865, when settlement began outside the walls.
Today, about 650 families live in the Jewish Quarter.
Much of the Jewish Quarter was damaged in the 1948 War, and after two
decades of Jordanian rule the Quarter lay in ruins. After the Israelis annexed the
Old City in 1967, they immediately began extensive restoration of the neighbor-
hood. City planners made archaeological discoveries with every lift of the shovel
and have managed to gracefully integrate the ancient remains into the new neigh-
borhood. Today the Jewish Quarter is an upper-middle-class neighborhood, with
an almost exclusively Orthodox Jewish (and largely American) population.
THE WESTERN WALL. The 67m long, 18m tall wall (Ha-Kotel Ha-Ma'aravi in
Hebrew, or just "The Kotel") is only a small part of the 488m long retaining wall of
the Temple Mount; the rest is now part of Arab houses in the MusUm Quarter. Built
around 20 ВСЕ, the Wall was the largest section of the Temple area that remained
standing after its destruction in 70 CE. The Waning Wall, a dated moniker, refers to
Jewish worshipers who visited in centuries past to mourn the destruction of the
Temple. Today's visitors, Jewish or otherwise, often see the Wall as a direct con-
nection with God, and tuck written prayers into its cracks. Don't expect your
scribbles to wait there for the Messiah; all notes are periodically removed from the
overburdened wall and buried, in accordance with Jewish Law. An innovative ser-
vice from Bezeq (the telephone company) lets you fax in urgent messages to be
deposited in the crevices. About 3m off the ground, a gray line indi-
cates the surface level before 1967. Nearly 20m of Herodian wall still lies under-
ground. The Herodian stones are identifiable by their carved frames; Byzantines,
Arabs, and Turks added the smaller stones above.
Pre-1948 photos show Orthodox Jews praying at the wall in a crowded alley;
after the 1967 War, the present plaza was built. Israeli paratroopers are now sworn
in here to recall the Wall's capture. The Ministry of Religion has decreed that all
rules applying to Orthodox synagogues also apply to the Wall. Men must cover
their heads (paper kippot are in a box by the entrance) and women must cover
their legs (wraps can be borrowed from the Holy Sites Authority). The prayer
areas for men and women are separated by a screen, with the Torah scrolls kept
on the men's side. Because Orthodox men are not allowed to hear women's voices
singing, observers will notice that the men's side is much louder and more active
than the women's side. Since 1989, a group called the Women of the Wall has been
pushing for equal rights; in April 2000, the Israeli Supreme Court finally granted
women the right to wear a tallis (prayer shawl), read from the Torah, and hold
group services. As of July 2000, controversial time tables were in developmental
stages, so that each group could have a time to pray at the Wall without offending
others. By next year, the solution will presumably have taken effect; ask around
for current information but keep in mind that this is a very sensitive issue.
Named for the English archaeologist who discovered it, Wilson's Arch is located
inside an arched room to the left of the Wall, accessible from the men's side. It was
once part of a bridge that spanned Cheesemakers' Valley, allowing Jewish priests
to cross from their Upper City homes to the Temple. A peek down the two illumi-
nated shafts in the floor of this room gives a sense of the Wall's original height
(women may not enter). The Wall continues from here through closed tunnels for
over 500m. A number of rooms branch off from the tunnels, including what is
thought to have been a chamber of the Sanhedrin, the supreme court of ancient
Israel. Women and groups can enter the passageways through an archway to the