XXII SCENES The Golden Gate

There are eight gates in the , all open apart from the one called the Golden Gate, on the east side of the city, and the only gate in that section of the wall that is also the wall of the . The more usual view of the Golden Gate is from across the looking towards the Temple Mount, but our picture is taken from the inside, with the behind. This gate is thought to be located where the eastern gate of Herod’s temple existed, used by the priests to take the red heifer out to the Mount of Olives to be burnt and its ashes collected, and for the release of the scapegoat on the Day of Atonement. The present Golden Gate is thought to date from Byzantine times, and may never have been much used, though it is known that the Crusaders opened it twice yearly for religious ceremonies. The name is derived from a misunderstanding that it was the of Acts 3:2, beautiful being equated with golden. By tradition rode through this gate into the city on the ass, and it is traditionally believed that he will enter the city by this means on his return. For this reason, after the time of the Crusaders it was blocked up by the Muslims, and it has never been used since. The tradition is based on Ezekiel 44:1-3, though this passage refers to the eastern gate of the temple to be built after Christ’s return, by which time the existing holy places of Jerusalem will have been swept away and the configuration of the area drastically changed by the earthquake of Zechariah 14.—Tony Benson