Chain Gate (Jerusalem)

Its rectangular doors are 4.5 m high. There is a small opening large enough for one person to pass through when the gate is closed.^[6]

It is known today as Bab Al-Silsilah and Bab Al-Sakinah. It was considered the most beautiful of the Al-Aqsa mosque gates. It has two entrances, the northern one is called the Gate of the Sakinah (Tranquility Gate) and the southern one is called the Gate of Al-Silsilah (Chain Gate).^[7][8] The entrance to the Gate of the Sakinah is closed and is not opened except for necessity. It worth to notice that the closure of the northern gate happened a long time ago, where the historian Al-Omari ( 746 AH /1345 CE ) mentioned that the northern gate had been closed.^[9] While the entrance to Bab Al-Silsilah is open. And it has an opening large enough for one person to enter when it is closed.^[7] According to Nasir-i-Khusraw, in order to reach the gate one had to pass through the market in the eastern section of the city and the gate itself had two openings that led into a large hall.^[1] Its construction was renewed in the Ayyubid period 1200 CE 600 AH during the reign of the great King Issa.^[7][10]

Bāb as-Sakīna is the northern half of the double gate that includes the Chain Gate.^[11][12]It is always closed.^[13] Its names:

• Bāb as-Sakīna (باب السكينة): the Gate of the Divine Presence,^[14] the Gate of God's Presence,^[15] or the Gate of Tranquillity.^[16] (cf sakīna & ‏سكينة‎)^{[N 1]}
  • Originally Bāb as-Sakīna was the name of another gate at the Southern Wall, possibly one of the Double Gate.^[12]
• Bāb as-Salām (باب السلام): the Gate of Peace.^[16][21]

The southwestern part of the Muslim Quarter is outside the gate. The neighborhood (Bāb as-Silsila / Bāb al-Silsila) is named after the gate.^[22] Chain Gate Street leads toward a market (Sūq Bāb as-Silsila) and eventually the gate.^[23]Once inside the compound, one can immediately see the Dome of Moses (south) and Fountain of Qasim Pasha (north, also named Sabīl Bāb al-Maḥkama, after the gate). The southwestern colonnade is the closest of the Mawazin.

The Chain Gate Minaret is just north of it. And north of that, one finds the al-Ashrafiyya Madrasa. South of the gate, and part of the compound wall, one sees the at-Tankiziyya Madrasa.^[6]

The results of archaeological excavations along the western wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque have shed some light on the history of this gate. Where it confirmed that it was located in an elevated position above the main street located adjacent to the western wall, which is the reason for building the bridge leading to Al-Aqsa Mosque through this gate, and based on that, it can be believed that this gate was built at the same time as the bridge that was built in the early Islamic period.^[8]

This Gate is one of the three Gates that open alone for worshipers at the prayers of Isha'a and Fajr since 1967. It is the closest gate leading to the Al-Qibli Musalla hall after the closure of the Maghriba Gate by the Israel. It is also the closest to the Western Wall/Al-Buraq Wall.^[24]

• Dome of the Chain, also in the compound

31°46′38″N 35°14′04″E / 31.77727°N 35.23431°E / 31.77727; 35.23431