Damascus Gate, Jerusalem

This gate, on the fringes of East Jerusalem, is the main entrance to the twisting and turning corridors of the Muslim Quarter. Outside the gate is the Peddler's Market where people sell vegetables, clothes, children toys, shoes and tobacco products. Heading down the stairs and into the gate the shopping market continues with people selling similar goods. Since Roman times, it has been one of the main ways of access into and out of the city. Excavations under the present gate, built during the Ottoman period, have uncovered Roman remains, which include a large pillar that apparently lent the gate its Arabic name, Bab el-Amud ("Gate of the Pillar").