Western Wall (19 BC)
Site for Jewish Prayer and Pilgrimage[edit]
The Western Wall, or The Wailing Wall, is the most sacred site in the Jewish faith, located in the old City of Jerusalem on the western side of Temple Mount. Temple Mount, previously known as Mount Moriah, is the place where many pivotal events in Jewish history took place, according to Jewish tradition. It is the location where the first human, Adam, was created, as well as being considered as the site of the creation of the world, from the Foundation Stone at the mountain’s peak. It has been a site of Jewish prayer and pilgrimage for centuries; the earliest available source mentioning Jewish attachment to the site dates back to the 4th century. In the present era, millions of visitors are attracted to the Western Wall every year, either to pray or to watch worshippers stuff handwritten prayers on scraps of paper into cracks between the historic stones. These 2,000 year-old stones have witnessed the Jewish people’s birth, exile, and redemption – this is where the Jewish nation’s past mingles with its hopes for the future. As well as ostensibly being Judaism’s holiest site, the Western Wall also constitutes the most sensitive and contested part of Jerusalem’s Old City – it is a living testimony to the strength and resilience of the Jewish nation.
