Skip to content

Jerusalem’s Gates: Golden Gate Traditional Geocache

Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   small (small)

Join now to view geocache location details. It's free!

Watch

How Geocaching Works

Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions in our disclaimer.

Geocache Description:

You are looking for a container in a nook in the wall. There are a lot of muggles around therefore MAXIMUM STEALTH IS REQUIRED.

This cache is part of the Jerusalem’s Gates Series. Don't forget to find the clue at this location, so to solve for the location of the final cache.


The Golden Gate (Hebrew: Sha'ar Harachamim, Arabic: Bab-el-Rahma) is a gate in the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. The Golden Gate, as it is called in Christian literature, is the oldest of the current gates in Jerusalem's Old City Walls. According to Jewish tradition, the Shekhinah (Divine Presence) used to appear through this gate, and will appear again when the Messiah comes (Ezekiel 44:1-3) and a new gate replaces the present one; that is why Jews used to pray for mercy at the former gate at this location. Hence the name Sha'ar Harachamim, the Gate of Mercy. Christian apocryphal texts, the gate was the scene of a meeting between the parents of Mary, so that Joachim and Anne meeting at the Golden Gate became a standard subject in cycles depicting the Life of the Virgin. In Arabic, it is known as the Gate of Eternal Life. In ancient times, the gate was known as the Beautiful Gate. Remains of a much older gate dating to the times of the Second Jewish Temple were found. The present one was probably built in the 520s AD, as part of Justinian I's building programme in Jerusalem, on top of the ruins of the earlier gate in the wall. An alternate theory holds that it was built in the later part of the 7th century by Byzantine artisans employed by the Umayyad khalifs. The gate is located in the middle of the eastern side of the Temple Mount. The portal in this position was believed to have been used for ritual purposes in biblical times. In Jewish tradition, this is the gate through which the Messiah will enter Jerusalem. Ottoman Sultan Suleiman I sealed off the Golden Gate in 1541 to prevent the Messiah's entrance. The Muslims also built a cemetery in front of the gate, in the belief that the precursor to the Messiah, Elijah, would not be able to pass through, since he is a Kohen (a Jew who is in direct patrilineal descent from the Biblical Aaron.) This belief is erroneous because a Kohen is permitted to enter a cemetery in which primarily non-Jews are buried. The magnificent walls of Jerusalem's Old City were built by the Ottoman Empire under the direct supervision of Sultan Suleiman in 1542. The walls stretch for approximately 4.5 kilometres (2.8 miles) and rise to a height of 5–15 metres (16–49 feet), with a thickness of 3 metres (10 feet). Altogether, the Old City walls contain 43 surveillance towers and 12 gates, eight of which are presently open.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Xarr uvtu. Oruvaq gur zvqqyr bs guerr Byvir Gerrf.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)