In Hebrew it’s Sha’ar HaAshpot (Refuse Gate). The popular theory as to how this unflattering appellation came about is that at one time the area around the gate was the local rubbish dump. Its Arabic name is Bab al-Maghariba (Gate of the Moors), because North African immigrants lived nearby in the 16th century.
Presently the smallest of the city’s gates, at one time it was even more diminutive. The Jordanians widened it during their tenure in the city in order to allow cars through. You can still make out traces of the original, narrower Ottoman arch.
