Photos of sights around the Western Wall Plaza

1. THE WESTERN WALL
Jerusalem
December 2008

2. The Western Wall is the section of the western supporting wall of the
Temple Mount which was not destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E.
During the Ottoman Period (16th century), the Jews came here to lament the
destruction of the Temple. It was then located in a narrow alley just 3.6 m
wide that could accommodate only a few hundred worshipers.
In 1967, immediately after the Six Day War, Israelis levelled the
neighbouring Arab district to create the Western Wall Plaza (80 m wide),
which can accommodate tens of thousands of pilgrims.

3. At the same time, the Israelis
made the wall about 1.8 m
higher by digging down and
exposing two more tiers of
ashlars (squared stones) from
the Temple Plaza's retaining
wall that had been buried by
accumulated debris for
centuries.
Today, we can see 28 stone
courses. Starting from the
base:
7 from the Herodian
Period/Second Temple period
(1st century BCE)
4 from the Umayyad period (7th
century CE)
14 from the Ottoman period
(16th century CE)
3 from the Muslim cleric of
Jerusalem before 1967

4. Jews come here to pray as they
believe that the Divine
Presence never moves from the
Western Wall

5. Wash basins and water They would wash the right
containers with 2 handles are hand, using the left handle to
provided for the Jews to wash hold the container, before the
their hands before prayers left

6. The Jews stand at the wall to
read the Psalms or pray,
swaying as they do so
Written prayers are studded in
between the cracks in this
open synagogue

7. An ultra-orthodox Jew An orthodox Jew with Chinese Jew
(left) in his black suit his tefillin (phylacteries Every male has to wear
on his head and the head covering when
A modern orthodox Jew
straps around his hand) entering sacred Jewish
(right) wearing jeans
and tallit (prayer shawl worship places in Israel
with 613 fringes at the
4 corners = the 613 oral
traditions)

8. Bar Mitzvah (‘son of the commandment’) is celebrated at the Western
Wall Plaza every Monday & Thursday
The 13-year old Jewish boy comes of age & is morally responsible for
his actions
It is a joyous time that is celebrated with the family
The procession begins outside the Plaza

9. The highlights:
The celebrant
puts on the
tefillin, wears
the tallit, and is
called up to the
Torah reading
The ceremony for the first time
is performed The women folk
during the stood on boxes,
Shacharit peering from
(morning their side of the
prayers) fence
After the In an alley
reading of the some distance
Torah, the bar away from the
mitzvah boy Plaza, women
parades around prepare food
with the Torah for the party
Scrolls, that ends the
accompanied by ceremony
lots of singing
& dancing

10. Below the Plaza are the
Western Wall Tunnels
Originally explored by two
British archaeologists (Charles
Wilson, in 1864; and Charles
Warren, in 1867-1870) who
found that the Wall continued
for 320 m and that some
structures still existed from the
Second Temple period
The Israeli government
continued the northern
exploration by excavating a
tunnel along the entire length
of the Wall which is now 488 m
in length

11. Look at how enormous the
stones of the master course are
The stones are held together
without the use of mortar
The Western Wall Tunnel lies
below the Plaza & has 7 stone
courses from the Second
Temple Period

12. The largest stone of the master
course is 13.6 m x 4.5 m x 3.5
m and weighs 570 tons
This portion of the Western
Wall was built by Herod
around 19 BCE

13. Hadrian converted Herod’s moat & pool into a market place
Inside the tunnels, you can see many other things: a synagogue at the
entrance gate to the Temple Mount, a 14th century medieval cistern, a
Hasmonean cistern & water tunnel, a Second Temple period street,
quarry, & dam, & many other interesting sights

14. We emerge out of the tunnels
into the bright sunlight of the
Via Dolorosa
From here, we can see the
remains of the triumphal arch
erected under Hadrian (135
CE) to celebrate the capture of
Jerusalem
The left arch, which no longer
exists
The right arch is still
preserved today inside the
Church of the Sisters of Zion