Atem (King Faysal) Gate
Audio Narration
Landmark Location:
Far 30 meters from the west of Bab al-Hetta in the north.
Landmark Location relative to Dome of the rock:
At the North of Dome of the Rock.
Landmark History:
Renewed the Gate with the renovation of the gallery in the Ayyubid period, specifically to the reign of King Issa the year 610 AH – 1213 AD.
Reason of the name:
-The Gate of the honor of the prophets in the honor of the prophets next to him in that era. -Called the Gate of King Faisal bin Hussein bin Ali, the King of Iraq, which entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque in 1352 AH-1933, called by the Supreme Islamic Council of this name, in memory of his donation to the architecture Al Aqsa Mosque. -The people of Jerusalem know him by the Gate of Darkness because its entrance from the outside is dark.
Details of the shape:
-The entrance is rectangular with 4 meters height.
-An old Gate that shows the size of the stones and the pattern of construction mentioned by the historian of Jerusalem in 379 AH – 990 M in the name of the Gates of the Hashemite where it had three entrances.
An Overview of the Landmark:
Al-A’tm Gate has a rectangular entrance with a height of 4 meters. It’s west of the northern Hitta gate, 30 meters away. The gate is north of the Dome of the Rock. It was restored during the Ayyubid time, when restoring the gallery, specifically during the time of King Issa in 1213 (610 QA.H.).
It has had many names, each one of them has a reason.
It was called Sharaf Al-Anbiya’a Gate, after Sharaf Al-Anbiya’a Quarter that was right next to it. Also, it was called Ad-Dawoodiyya Gate in the Mamluk era, after Ad-Dawoodiyya School that was established in 1295 (694 A.H.). this school is north of the gate from the inside. It’s known for the people of Jerusalem as Al’Atm gate, because the outer side of it is dark. When King Faisal bin Hussein bin Ali, the king of Iraq at that time, he was invited to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque through it in 1933 (1352 A.H). The Supreme Islamic Council called it so, to commemorate his donation to the restoration of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
It’s an old gate, and that’s is clear from the size of its stones and its architectural style. In 990 (379 A.H.), a Jerusalemite historian called it “the Gates of the Hashemites”, since it had 3 entrances.
