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Suq Khan A-Zeit (Beit Habad Street)

Suq Khan A-Zeit (Beit Habad Street)

This street is one of the most authentic and fascinating markets in the old city. The market caters to the residents of East Jerusalem for shopping and entertainment, with an abundance of goods, smells and colors. Many travelers, residents and tourists swarm into the market alleys. On Fridays, peasants from the nearby villages come here to sell leaves and vegetables from their farms, as they have been doing for generations. The street starts from Damascus Gate in the North, and continues south to the area of the Jewish Quarter. Since the Via Dolorosa (the Way of Grief) crosses this street, one may very often see pilgrims marching in this route, carrying big wooden crosses on their back, on their way to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The Beit Habad (Cloth street) overlies parts of the ancient routes of the Cardo, the street that crossed Jerusalem from north to south during the Roman-Byzantine times. This street can be seen clearly in the Madaba Map discovered in Jordan in the 19th century. It was a wide 22- meters street, with huge pillars and shops on both sides. During later periods the street was narrowed, due to the shop owners who gradually expanded their shops towards its center. In some sections the street splits into three narrow streets (the Butchers’ Bazaar, the Perfume Bazaar and the Goldsmith Bazaar). These sections were probably constructed during the reign of Queen Melisende from the crusaders era. The entire street preserved its character as a colorful and over-packed bazaar.
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