Al-Aqsa has many gates in its surrounding walls, all of which are made of wood and have of one or two shutters and an opening for praying latecomers who reach the gates after they are officially closed at sunset.[1]
Not all of Al-Aqsa gates open, in fact, only the ones in the northern and western parts of the Al-Aqsa plaza are open, while the ones in the eastern and southern parts of the area are closed..[2]
List of Al-Aqsa Gates
The Al-Aqsa Plaza is connected to the city of Jerusalem through ten open gates that are located on the northern and western sides of the plaza.[3]
Gates on the northern side include The Lions Gate, The Hetta Gate, The King Faisal Gate, and The Ghawanimah Gate. [4]
Gates on the western side include Al-Nazer Gate, The Iron Gate, The Qattanin Gate, The Purified Gate, The Chain Gate, and The Moroccan Gate.[5]
Of the closed gates, seven lead to the Al-Aqsa mosque–five of which lie on the eastern and southern sides (the Golden Gate and the Funerals gate,[6]the Single Gate, the Double Gate, and the Triple Gate.[7]) and the Barclay Gate and the C. Wamen Gate[8] in the west.[9]
[1]Hassan Mustafa Khater, Al-Quds: the Educational Pictorial Atlas (Jordan: International Jerusalem Center for Media, International Studies and Documentation, 2013),248
