ISRAEL
d
hopping at Somerset means letting go
of a few holiday traditions.
Like driving around and around
WZPS/Doug las Guthrie
in the snow, looking for a parking spot.
Complimentary valet parking.
COLLECTION
Big Beaver Road at Coolidge, Troy. Mon.-Fri. 10-9; Sat. 10-6; Sun. 12-5
WHAT
EVERY
SKIER .
WANTS!
OPENED
NOV. 9th
EARLIEST
OPENING
EVER!
Convenient Holiday
Shopping
!pine
alley
Southeast Michigan's Mountain of Fun
6775 E. Highland Rd. • White Lake, MI 48383
N
YOUR EXERCISE CONNECTION
• TREADMILLS Electric/Manual
•__STAIR CLIMBERS
• HEALTH BIKES
Manual/Dual Action/Electric
• ROWING MACHINES
• MISC. GYM EQUIPMENT
Gift Certificates For
SKI LIFT
TICKETS
Available by phone
887-2180
SKIERS
Compare our prices...
They can't be beat!
All top quality ski equipment
ON SALE NOW
Great savings
& selection!
(ALL ITEMS DISCOUNTED)
LARRY ARONOFF
ACTON RENTAL & SALES
891.6500
60
540.5550
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1991
Don gkontas
Ls'portkaus)
Bloomlield Plaza • Telegraph al Maple
Birmingham, Mich. • 626-9500
The Damascus Gate is the largest and most ornate of all gates
leading into the Old City.
Eleven Gates
Pierce The Walls
The eleven gates which
pierce the Old City walls at ir-
regular intervals were built
by Suleiman the Magnificent
during the 16th century, part-
ly on remains from earlier
epochs — some as far back as
the Second Temple period.
Four of the gates have been
sealed for centuries and seven
now give access to the Old
City.
These gates differ greatly in
size and design, but all offer
an indirect or staggered entry
into the City — an old defense
device to give advantage to
the guards protecting the
gate, and all but one are
L-shaped.
Zion Gate is in the form of
a tower projecting from the ci-
ty wall and its facade holds
the central arched portal with
a somewhat smaller archway
recessed about two feet be-
hind it, which gives onto a
staggered passageway lead-
ing into the city. The facade,
crowned by battlements, was
decorated by Suleiman's
sculptures with traditional
Ottoman ornamentation.
Ancient stone stairwells
lead up from the passage
chamber to a series of rooms
on the upper level of the gate,
probably guard rooms, and to
the observation roof, which
commands a superb view both
of the Old City and the
history-laden countryside.
Jaffa Gate (the only non-
roofed gate) is in the form of
a tower which projects for-
ward from the wall, and its
arched entranceway is topped
by embrasures and stone tur-
rets. On entering the gate one
finds oneself in a vaulted
chamber which is part of the
L-shaped passageway leading
through the tower into the
Old City. For centuries this
was the sole entry from the
west.
The New Gate is the least
interesting of all the gates. It
is little more than an opening
in the wall — wide enough to
take motor traffic — and it
was constructed in 1887 by
Sultan Abdul Hamid to pro-
vide easy access to the Chris-
tian Quarter of the Old City
from the developing new
northern suburbs outside the
walls. It still serves this pur-
pose, though not very ade-
quately, and its architecture
is unexciting.
All offer a
staggered entry
into the City.
The Damascus Gate is the
largest and most ornate of all
Jerusalem's gates. Its central
location makes it the prin-
cipal entrance to the Old Ci-
ty from the north. The gate is
one of the richest examples of
early Ottoman architecture
in the region, and is
monumental yet graceful. Its
walls are 16 meters high and
it is flanked on each side by
a great tower and topped by
pinnacled battlements. The
staggered entrance is hand-
somely vaulted, and after a
left and right turn the
passageway opens into the
bazaar area of the Old City.
Herod's Gate, so named by
pilgrims who erroneously
believed that it led to Herod's
palace, in fact leads directly
into the Moslem Quarter of
the Old City. As does Jaffa
Gate, Herod's Gate projects
from the wall, like a jutting
tower. Its original en-
tranceway was in the sidewall
of the tower at right-angles to
the City wall but as it was too
narrow to admit wheeled traf-
I
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