Muslim Quarter Photos

Muslim Quarter Photos

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.

A tunnel-like entrance with a staircase on the right
At Al-Qirami Street
a high-ceiling inodor market
Cotton market, reconstructed in 1336 by the Mamluk ruler Emir Tankiz, governor of Damascus
A brown building with a red-and-white striped flag on top
The Austrian Pilgrims Hospice to the Holy Family (or simply Austrian Hospice) is a little piece of Vienna in the Middle East. It is located at the corner of Via Dolorosa and El Wad Street in the Muslim Quarter, at the 3rd Station of the Way of the Cross.
A red-and-white striped flag overlooking a city
View from the rooftop terrace of the Austrian Hospice. The Dome of the Rock is on the background (left) with the rest of the Temple Mount.
a man carrying a crate of box of bread, with the crate of bread in front of him
“Bread man” at the Muslim Quarter.
A souvenir shop
Shops in prayer time, Muslim Quarter
counter relief with Islamic patterns
Counter relief with Islamic patterns, Muslim Quarter
people and goods at a market place
Typical market scene at the Muslim Quarter. The wall in the background is part of the Damascus Gate.
a view of white stone buildings and trees
A view of the Muslim Quarter, from the Mount of Olives
two men smoking from a pipe
Men smoking hookah in the Muslim Quarter
a small mountain of spice
An impressive display at a spice market, Muslim Quarter
A facade of a church
Church of St. Anne, a Roman Catholic church in the Muslim Quarter. It is located before the start of Via Dolorosa, between the Lions’ Gate of the 2nd Station of the Cross (the churches of Flagellation and Condemnation).