This is the gate that gives access to the Mount of Olives and Gethsemane. It is also where, from their positions on that biblically famed hillside, Israeli paratroopers fought their way into the Old City on 7 June 1967.
Although originally called Bab al-Ghor (Jordan Valley Gate), it became known as St Stephen’s Gate after the first Christian martyr, who was stoned to death at a spot nearby. The Hebrew name, Sh'ar Ha'Arayot (Lions Gate), is a reference to the two pairs of heraldic lions carved on the exterior side of the archway.
