Jaffa Gate (Bab al-Khalil)

Jaffa Gate, also known as Bab al-Khalil, is one of the six original gates built by Ottoman Turkish sultan Suleiman in the sixteenth century when he reconstructed the Old City walls of Jerusalem. Located on the western wall, the gate is named for its orientation toward the harbor of Jaffa in Tel Aviv. It features a dog-legged pedestrian tunnel and a car-friendly passage, the latter added in 1898 to accommodate German Kaiser Wilhelm II’s visit. Today, as the main entrance into the Old City, Jaffa Gate serves as an ideal starting point for explorations, with a lively souk just inside leading into the Christian and Jewish quarters.