Muslim Quarter - one of the four areas of the Old City, the largest and most populous (there about 22 thousand inhabitants).

Islamic history of Jerusalem began in 638: the city, a member of the Byzantine Empire, surrendered without a fight to the second righteous caliph Omar (Umar) ibn al-Khattab. In the XIII century, when the Mamelukes, Jerusalem has become a center of Islamic theology, formation of the Muslim community. Built madrassas, mosques, inns for pilgrims. Much has survived to our time.

The population here over the centuries have been mixed: Muslims, Jews, Christians. In 1929, due to the wave of violence left the Jewish quarter, and it got its current name. Now here the world, alongside Muslims live about 60 Jewish families have a yeshiva (Jewish religious school).

The Muslim quarter is rich in historical monuments. Here, from the Lion's Gate begins Via Dolorosa, which tradition associates Way of the Cross of Jesus. Nine of the fourteen events Way of the Cross are marked by special signs. Here - Catholic basilica Ektse Homo, the location of which connects with the tradition of the Gospel story: Pontius Pilate brought to the nation bloodied Christ and said: "Behold the man! ". Two points inside the block are considered to be the birthplace of the Virgin Mary, venerated in the Orthodox Church of Nativity as Catholics give priority to the place where stands the church of St. Anne. Near the Catholic church discovered the ruins of a vast ancient basin. Many experts believe that it is the ruins of the pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed the paralytic.

The Muslim quarter is Little Wailing Wall - a small piece of the retaining wall of the Temple, dating to the VI century BC. e.

Historical monuments are located here and the underground. It stretched for hundreds of meters of the Western Wall tunnels. On the ten-depth under the noisy streets lies Zedekiah Cave - a huge quarry where limestone was mined for thousands of years.

Islamic culture has left an indelible imprint on the face of the quarter. Preserved medieval mosques and madrassas, giving an idea of ​​Mamluk architecture. Madrasah Al-Salam built in the early XIV century, a rich slave Majd al-Din Ismail al-Salami: in front of the beautifully decorated, pick up window grilles, entrance encrusted with colored stones. To this period belongs the Palace Qasr Sit Tunshuk built for Princess Tunshuk. In the Ottoman period, the complex of buildings expanded, lived here Hjurrem (Roxelana), beloved wife of the Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent - Ukrainian Anastasiya Lisovskaya.

A genuine masterpiece of Mamluk architecture are Cotton gate leading to the Temple Mount. Tourists should not only admire the gates, but also look to the nearby Souk el Katanin - a huge indoor cotton market, the construction of which started back when the crusaders. Here, as in many shops quarter, it decided to bargain hard, otherwise the price of goods can be exorbitant.