Western Wall Tunnels - Warren's Gate
Warren’s Gate refers to an ancient passage which lead to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It was names after Charles Warren who is one of the explorers who excavated the Western Wall area which led to the discovery of the Western Wall Tunnels. Warren’s Gate is the closest point to where once stood the 'Holy of Holies', where the 'Ark of the Covenant' was stored, in the Jewish Second Temple.Warren’s Gate is one of the four gates that once lead to the Temple Mount on its western side. It is situated at about 150 feet from the entrance the beginning of Western Wall Tunnels.
After the conquest of Jerusalem by the Muslim Umayyad Caliphate from the hands of the the Christian Byzantine Empire in 638 the Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab permitted the Jews to pray by the Western Wall and inside the Kotel Tunnels. So the Jews built synagogues at the foundation of the Tempe Mount. In 1099, the Crusaders conquered Jerusalem and demolished the synagogue of the Western Wall Tunnels referred to as the “cave”, and transformed it to cistern.
Today, Warren’s gate serves as an attraction to local and tourists visiting the Holy City as well as thousands of worshipers who wish to pray as close as they can to the Temple Mount and the place of Holy of Holies of the Second Temple. Warren’s Gate - Hiding Place of the Ark of Covenant? There are some who claim that when King Solomon built the First Temple, he knew that it was destined to be destroyed by his enemies so he built a special place where the Ark of the Covenant will be hidden. Later on, King Josiah ordered that the Ark be put on that hidden place prepared by King Solomon not long before the invasion of the Babylonians. Some speculate this hidden place to be underneath the Western Wall Tunnels.Warren’s Gate is characterized by decorative details and engravings. It is one of the most important historical and religious remains of the Second Temple in Jerusalem which is why it serves as a major attraction to pilgrimage site in Jerusalem. A tour to Jerusalem will never be complete without witnessing the Western Wall Tunnels and Warren’s Gate.
