The Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem: Sha'ar Yaffo, Jaffa Gate

The Jaffa Gate, also known as “Sha’ar Yafo” (Hebrew "שער יפו") or David's Gate, “Sha’ar David” (Hebrew "שער דוד") and Bab el-Khalil in Arabic, this gate was built by the Ottoman ruler Suleiman in 1538.

This gate gets its name as it opens up to Jaffa road, the main thoroughfare, the forerunner of the contemporary highway to the port of Jaffa.

It is also known as David’s Gate because of the proximity of the Tower of David or David’s Citadel. The present tower was built by Suleiman the Magnificent, but still named the “Tower of David” as the current structure was built on the foundations of the original tower built by King David.

The Arabic name for this gate is Bab el-Khalil translates to the Gate of the Friend, as the Jaffa gate is also a portal to the road to Hebron, called el Khalil by the Arabs. el-Khalil, means friend of God, referring to Abraham who was the "friend of God," and was buried in Hebron.

In 1898 Ottomans breached the adjacent to the Jaffa Gate, to allow German Kaiser Willem an easy entrance into Jerusalem. The Turks lead the Kaiser to believe he actually entered through the gate, as legend has it that all conquerors of Jerusalem enter through the Jaffa Gate. Though there are those who content that the Turks opened a passage on the wall next to the Jaffa Gate so that the Kaiser would not have to dismount in order to enter the city.

In 1908 a clock tower was erected just outside the gate to accommodate the budding business district in that location. However, the tower lasted just ten years and then destroyed by the British.

In 1917, the British General Edmund Allenby entered the old city via the Jaffa Gate on foot. He did so as a show of respect to the city and to differentiate and distance himself from any comparison to Kaiser Willem.

In 1948 during the Israeli Independence War, Haganah forces were defeated by the Jordanians in their attempt to capture the Jewish Quarter of the old city and connect it with Western Jerusalem. It was only after the 1967 Six Day War that Israeli forces were able to regain control of the Jaffa Gate.

Sha'ar Yafo / the Jaffa gate is the most western of all the gates and it is used extensively by both pedestrians and vehicles. The plaza in front of the gate has been extended and has joined to the new spectacular Mamila Shopping Center.