The Muslim Quarter is one of the four quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem.
The Muslim Quarter is the largest and the most populous of all the four quarters, extending from the Lions’ Gate in the east, along the northern wall of the Temple Mount on the south, to the Damascus Gate–Western Wall route in the west. The Via Dolorosa runs through the heart of the Muslim Quarter and there are some superb views of the Temple Mount & The golden Dome of the Rock.
Some facts about the Muslim Quarter
- It covers 31 hectares (or 77 acres), about one-third of the walled Old City neighborhood.
- As of 2012, the Muslim Quarter has a population of 31,182.
- The quarter used to have a mixed population of Jewish, Muslim and Christians until the 1929 Palestine riots. Nowadays, about 60 Jewish families live in the Muslim Quarter. In fact, there is a yeshiva — Jewish religious school — in this quarter.
- Mamluk architecture — the Muslim Quarter boasts a wealth of buildings that were constructed during the Islamic architecture’s golden age. The Old City was established during the Mamluk Sultanate dynasty (1250 – 1517), which composed of former slaves ruling out of Egypt. After driving the Crusaders out Syria and Palestine, they followed it up by constructing elaborate and impressive buildings which consolidated their Islamic presence in the Levant with numerous mosques, hostels, religious institutions (madrassas), monasteries and mausoleums. Sadly, most of them are left to ruin, but they still hold vestiges of their former grandeur.
Here are some of the places and scenes of Jerusalem’s Muslim Quarter.