Opened in the 1530s, Jaffa Gate (Bab al-Khalil) served for centuries as the main western entrance to the Old City, linking Jerusalem to the port at Jaffa. In 1908, a tall clock tower was added above the gate—its four faces showing both local time and European time—only to be demolished by the British in 1922 for “not fitting” the ancient wall.
And like so many Jerusalem gates, it remains a meeting point across generations: a place where people pause, gather, talk, and then move inward into the heart of the city.
