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Damascus Gate (Bab Al-Amoud)
Literally translated as the Door of the pillar, Bab Al Amoud is the most important and the largest gate in Jerusalem. It is also called Damascus gate and Nablus gate, as it was the entrance for caravans coming from or departing to these cities. In 70 AD, Titus destroyed Jerusalem and between 133- 137 AD, Hadrian (Adriamus) rebuilt the city under the name of Elia Capitolina. In commemoration of rebuilding the city, a black granite pillar fourteen meters high carrying a statue of Adrianus was erected in the inner courtyard of the gate. The pillar is depicted in the Madaba mosaic, which was discovered in a Byzantine church. The gate in its present form dates back to the Mamluki and Ottoman periods. The ottoman Sultan Suleiman made the latest renovations the magnificent in 1538. It consists of a large arch placed on two carved stone pillars, above which there is a small stone tower which is inscribed with the name of Sultan Suleiman the magnificent and the date of the renovation.