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(Date Posted:01/12/2009 04:01 AM)
Western Wall Plaza The Western Wall is the most holy place accessible to the Jewish people because of Muslim control of the Temple Mount. Known in recent centuries as the "Wailing Wall," this was built by Herod the Great as the retaining wall of the Temple Mount complex. The plaza was created as an area for prayer when Israel captured the Old City in 1967. At times tens of thousands of people gather here for prayer. |
Barclay's Gate The massive lintel of this gate is preserved to the right of the bush and above the small fillstones behind the staircase. Once erroneously identified with Kipunus’ Gate (mentioned in the Mishnah), today it is known for the 19th c. explorer who discovered it. The original L-shaped passageway inside the gate is still preserved but not accessible. Prayers The most holy place in the world accessible to Jewish people, prayers are offered up at this wall built by King Herod in the first century B.C. Three times a day the Jewish people pray (morning, afternoon, evening) and they do so with phylacteries tied around their forehead and wrist and with the white and blue prayer shawls. Wilson's Arch The men's prayer area continues from the outdoor section through a passageway to the north. Within this area is a massive arch originally constructed by Herod and now known after a British explorer in the 1860s. | Largest Stone An especially large course of stones is visible on the southern and western walls today. On the west the "Master Course" consists of four stones, the largest of which weighs 570 tons and is 44 feet long, 10 feet high and 12-16 feet deep. The next largest stone in the wall is a mere 40 feet long. The largest stone in the Great Pyramid weighs 11 tons. |
Though only 25 feet high now, the arch originally was 75 feet high when the Central Valley was much deeper. http://www.masada2000.org/jerusalem.html |
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