The Western Wall or otherwise known as "Hakotel HaMa'aravi" or simply the "Kotel" is a Jewish religious site located in the Old City of Jerusalem. The wall itself dates back from the Second Temple period (516 BCE - 70 CE).,
It is also sometimes known as the "wailing Wall referring to the Jews who come to the site to mourn the destruction of the holy temple and to place prayers in the walls crevices written on notes.

At any time of the day you can find Jewish men and women praying at the wall which is actually an outdoor synagogue.

Bar mitzva celebrations and other ceremonies are held here such as graduation and end of Army Basic training in the Army.

It is also a tradition to place prayers and wishes on pieces of paper and push them in the the crevices and cracks in the wall and if you look closely you can see thousands of pieces of paper.


 

Gifts, sovenirs and Judaica

 Holy books

Books on the  Kotel          

How to get to the Western Wall from Tel Aviv

Take road no. 1 to Jerusalem and when you arrive to the entrance to Jerusalem you should see  on your right side the "Binyanei Hauma". Carry on staight thru Ben Zvi Traffic light *the fourth traffic light) and then turn left. On the left hand side of the fork take RamBan street and the road takes you right, take the next left turn and at the end of the street take another left and then carry on straight on a street called Agron, cross the next traffic light go straight till the end of the road and then turn right and after approx.20-30 meters at the next traffic light turn left and then left again which leads you to the old city. Find the Jaffa Gate and enter to the Old city carry on straight untill you arrive at the Wall.
 

Parking is not a problem but consult with the police and the security personal situated there.

      Bar mitzva at the Kotel

Western Wall Tunnels - Minharet Hakotel      

The excavations began round about the time of the end of the six Day Ware by Israel's Ministry of Religious Affairs it started by exposing the continuation of the wall and lasted almost twenty years and revealed many previously unknown facts and geography of the Temple Mount.

The excavations include many archaelogical finds and descoveries from the Herodian period (including streets and monumental masonry) amongs others.
The remains of a water channel which originally supplied water to the Temple Mount were found which apparantly dates back as far as the Hasmonean period and was named the "Hasmonean Channel"
One of the biggest stones in the Western Wall which is sometimes called the Western Stone is also revealed inside the tunnel and is one of the heaviest objects ever moved manually  by human beings.
The stone has a length of 13.6 meters and an estimated width of between 3.5 and 4.5 meters; estimates place its weight at 570 tons.
 

The Western Wall at night