One of the exits from the Temple Mount is Bab al-Qattanin, or "Gate of the Cotton Merchants." It is an architectural masterpiece of nestled arches and domes built from three alternating colors of stone and adorned with muqarnas, hanging embellishments that resemble ornate stalactites.
%2B-%2BCopy.JPG "Bab al-Qattanin, or Gate of the Cotton Merchants, Jerusalem")
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The gate leads to the Souk al-Qattanin, or Cotton Merchants Marketplace, which was built in 737 AD, prior to the Crusades, and then re-built in 1394 AD after Muslims regained control of the Temple Mount.
The patterns on the doors remind me of a crazy quilt:
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Once through those doors, we descended into the 310-foot-long souk, or market, marveling at its barrel-shaped vaulted ceiling comprising thirty sections, each with a skylight to let in natural light..JPG)
The protruding metal bars and racks were high above our heads and are for holding up goods for display when the 60 shops of the souk are open for business--unfortunately, not while we were walking through, though we did catch them open later. The sidewalk is an ingenious combination of stairs and ramps:.JPG)
I have a thing for old doorways. This one in the Muslim quarter was beautiful in its simplicity, the patina of age reminding me of a beloved grandparent:
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