The Flowers Gate (Bab A Sahira)

The Flowers Gate, one of the gates in the walls of the old city, was built during the 16^th century under the order of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. In the past, this was just a narrow opening, which was closed most of the time. During the second half of the 19^th century, the population started moving out of the walled city and building new neighborhoods outside of the walls. The Muslims started building private residential houses outside of the wall in this area. Following this trend, the gate was opened in 1875. The name of the gate is related to the Muslim faith in the resurrection, which is supposed to take place on the opposite hill, where the Muslim cemetery is located. The gate used to be named “Bab A Sahira”, which means in Arabic “The Gate of the Dazed”, but over the years the name was changed to “Bab A Zahara”, which means The Flower Gate. Some claim that the rose decorations carved around the gate are the origin of its name. during the crusader era, a church was built near this area, where Herod’s castle was located according to a local tradition. This tradition gave the gate its name, “Herod Gate”, and to this day, some know it by this name.