The Muslim Quarter in Jerusalem old city is famous for its shuk (open marketplace), and its madrasas (Muslim schools). It also has many beautiful fountains and public buildings, many of them built by Suleiman the Magnificent.
Some Christians live along the Via Dolorosa in the Muslim Quarter. Jews used to live here – in fact this used to be called the Jewish Quarter, but most Jews moved out during the anti-Jewish riots in the 1920s.
The Muslim Quarter is the largest and most populous of the four quarters and is situated in the northeastern corner of the Old City, extending from the Lions' Gate in the east, along the northern wall of the Temple Mount in the south, to the Damascus Gate - Western Wall route in the west. The Via Dolorosa road starts in the quarter.
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Muslim Quarter Jerusalem
The population of the Muslim Quarter is 22,000. Like the other three quarters of the Old City, the Muslim quarter had a mixed population of Jews as well as Muslims and Christians until the riots of 1929. Today 60 Jewish families live in the Muslim Quarter, and a few yeshivot are located there. The main one is Yeshivat Ateret Cohanim. Jewish landmarks within the quarter include the Kotel Katan or Little Western Wall, and the Western Wall Tunnels, which run below the neighborhood along the Western Wall.
On July 27 2005 Israeli planners approved the construction of Jewish housing in the Muslim Quarter, a few meters from the al-Aqsa Mosque. It will contain thirty apartments on three dunums of land.
This is the Old City's largest and most densely populated quarter and is an experience for all the senses, with nargila to smoke, souvenirs to haggle over in the never-ending alleys of the souk, and Islamic architecture to marvel at. Many of the buildings in this area stem from the Mamuluk period (13th to 16th century). Examples of this architecture are Khan al-Sultan on Bab al-Silsila Street, an inn for merchants that was built in 1386 and Madrasa al-Aghuniya on Bab al-Hadid Street, a religious learning centre built in 1358. This quarter stretches all the way from the Damascus Gate to the Temple Mount. Al Wad Road will take you from Damascus Gate to the Western Wall in the neighbouring Jewish Quarter. Souq Khan al-Zeit (also reached from the Damascus Gate) is the busiest shopping street in the Old City and runs between the Arab and Christian Quarters.
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