The 2015 custodial guide counts fifteen, describing ten as open and five as closed at that time. This is an attributed architectural inventory, not a live statement of how many entrances can be used today.[1]
Fifteen gates in the cited inventory
The 2015 custodial guide identifies fifteen gates around the sanctuary. It describes ten as open and five as closed at the time of publication. The figure is useful as a documented architectural inventory, but the open-versus-closed split is a dated statement and should not be repeated as live access information.[2]
Names can vary across languages and periods
Gate names may appear in Arabic transliteration and in translated forms. The Chain Gate, for example, is Bab al-Silsila and is distinct from the similarly named Dome of the Chain inside the enclosure. Stable landmark identities matter more than treating every English spelling as a separate gate.[3][4]
A count does not tell a visitor where to enter
An architectural gate may survive even when it is closed, paired with another portal or not available to a particular visitor. Current entry arrangements can change and require maintained operational sources. Learn uses the count to explain the enclosure; it does not convert the 2015 guide into present-day access advice.[2]
Sources & references
References are attached to the passages they support. Dates below record source consultation.
- A Guide to Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Ash-Sharif (2015)
pp. 46–53
PASSIA · Jerusalem Awqaf · Hashemite Fund · Consulted 2026-09-14
- A Guide to Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Ash-Sharif (2015)
pp. 46–53; publication date
PASSIA · Jerusalem Awqaf · Hashemite Fund · Consulted 2026-09-14
- A Guide to Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Ash-Sharif (2015)
pp. 46–51
PASSIA · Jerusalem Awqaf · Hashemite Fund · Consulted 2026-09-14
- Chain Gate (Jerusalem)
Wikipedia · cited architectural bibliography · Consulted 2026-09-14