Pilgrimage Guide

. . . [T]‌his side remained since it was built by Solomon . . . the Huldah Gates, which the Arabs call the Gates of the Prophet. Inside them there is a stone, which they call the Sun-disk. And in the middle of the vaults that support the middle of the mosque where Muslims pray, there is a pillar fifty-two spans in circumference. [In Hebrew] they call this place the Gates of the Second Quarter, [as it is said:] She [the prophetess Huldah] dwelled in Jerusalem in the second quarter (2 Kings 22:14). The gates in the southern wall are called the Gates of the Fifths, and in front of them is the House of the Fifths,¹ which is called [in Hebrew] the Court of Bathsheba. And the other [gates] are called in the language of the forefathers the Water Gate, the Gate of the Song, and the Women’s Gate.² The corner that faces the stream of Kidron is the Ophel corner, and below it is the valley of Gehenna, which is the eastern spring. In the eastern wall there is a double gateway called the Gates of Mercy. Its [Hebrew] name is the Gate of Nicanor, [where] the high priest purifies men and women who have a discharge, as well as lepers, and gives water to drink to a woman suspected of adultery [see m. Sotah 1:5 and m. Keritot 2:1]. In the east, there is a gate called the Eastern Gate. At present it is in most seasons . . . and filth. On this side is the Mount of Olives, which one ascends. At the start of the ascent is the tomb of Absalom, which is a round structure, narrow at the top like a household kettle with its lid, and for this reason the Arabs call it the Kettle. [On] the path to the tombs is the tomb of Ornan the Jebusite, made of one stone. The circumference of its walls is twenty cubits, and their width is twelve cubits. Its roof is also made of one stone. Connected [to it] is an adjacent [tomb] made of one stone: its roof, floors, walls, and pillars . . . of one stone, and upon it . . . the church of James, the brother of the Messiah [Jesus] . . . the churches that were built by Solomon for Astarte, the abomination of Moab [see 2 Kings 23:13], and on their side a palm tree grows. The forefathers [said] that this place faces the gate of Gehenna, as it is said: for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about (Joel 4:12). On the left side of the path there is another church, which was also built by Solomon for Chemosh, the abomination of the Ammonites [see 2 Kings 23:13].

Climb the Mount of Olives to a rock that is ten cubits long, two cubits wide, and two cubits thick. This is the throne of the head [of the academy]. It is erected in the place where the Glory stood for three and a half years on the Mount of Olives before the destruction of Jerusalem, as it is said: And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city (Ezekiel 11:23). Also . . . and His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, [which is before Jerusalem on the east] (Zechariah 14:4).

At the head of the mountain there are seven cisterns and thirty-two olive trees. . . . steps, 395 in number: 365 as the number of days in the solar year and thirty for the additional month, the second Adar. The Arabs call them the Steps of the Year, and their [Hebrew] name is the Ascent of the Mount of Olives, as it is said: And David went up by the ascent of the mount of Olives and wept as he went up (2 Samuel 15:30). At the top of these steps is the palace of Uzziah . . . which is called [in Hebrew] the Sick House [see 2 Kings 15:5]. Christians . . . when it runs . . . vigorously . . . when rains come, the water gushes forth . . . and great into a torrential stream for three months or less . . . ³ called En-rogel [Fuller’s Well; see Joshua 15:7].

Below it on the side of the mountain is a place . . . where they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire (2 Kings 17:17), and it is . . . a station built of stones, and upon it are seven houses one inside the other.⁴ Under a [devotional] figure there is a stone basin, and water flows from the ground under the figure, may the God of Israel remove idolatry from our land. Muslims call it the House of the Anchorites.⁵ You can climb the back side of the mountain to Zion, may it be speedily comforted. There is an aqueduct there which Hezekiah brought into the city, a conduit from the source, as it is said: how he made the pool, and the conduit, and brought water into the city (2 Kings 20:20). This conduit is wondrous; it runs for more than one thousand mīl,⁶ and the way from the source of the water to the house of purity⁷ is seven . . .

Source: CUL T-S Arabic 53.2.