The commercial center inside the Jaffa Gate &
the Christian Quarter
The gate itself was the main entrance to the Holy City. In 1898, the city wall was breached next to the gate to enable easy passage for the Kaiser's mounted entourage. A clock tower was erected atop the gate in 1907 in honor of the ruling Sultan, Sultan Abdul Hamid the Second. This clock tower too was removed in the early 1920s (both were considered inappropriate and "kitsch" by the British rulers). Jerusalem’s trade center slowly spread in the inner courtyard of the gate, gradually moving outside of the walls, along the Jaffa Road westward. Pilgrims and most of the tourists began their visit in the Christian quarter, passed the Hezekia pool, where the level of stored water changed according to the seasons, past the Church of the Redeemer, inaugurated in 1898, arriving at the entrance of the Holy Sepulchre, weaving their way around hawkers selling all kinds of souvenirs. Following the visit to the Church, the visitors turned to follow the Via Dolorosa, ending up at the ruins of the Bethesda pool.
