The Walls of Jerusalem – the Jewel of the Ottoman Projects

The walls of Jerusalem were built at the behest of Suleiman the Lawgiver after centuries during which the city had no walls. They were built both to glorify the city and to provide a minimal amount of protection to its inhabitants. Taxes were collected in Egypt for a number of years to finance the construction.

The walls were built on the foundations of ruined earlier walls, from First Temple times through the Ayyubid period. Legend has it that the engineers who built the walls made a mistake and excluded the Tomb of King David on Mount Zion, and that as a punishment they were executed and buried near the Jaffa Gate. However, this story has no basis in reality.