Jerusalem’s Jaffa Gate opens after renovation

Jerusalem’s Jaffa Gate was reopened after a two-month renovation. A black cloth that covered the gate was removed April 21 during a rededication ceremony of the 16th-century gate.

The restoration is part of a multiyear $4 million project to renovate the Old City walls. The project has been under the direction of the conservation department of the Israel Antiquities Authority since April 2007.

The gate’s broken stones were fixed or replaced, the facade was cleaned, and an Arabic inscription erected at the gate’s original dedication in 1593 was reattached, but bullet fragments in the gate were preserved, according to reports. — jta