St. Stephen's Gate & the Golden Gate circa1870 Set of Two Photos

This is a set of two original albumen prints mounted on cardboard of gates from Jerusalem's old city. The first depicts the gate known as St Stephen's in the eastern wall surrounding the old city of Jerusalem. This gate is also known as the Lions gate because of the decorations to the right and left of the gate. These are actually panthers which were the symbols of Baibars (1223 –1277 CE). Baibars was the first Mamluk Sultan of Egypt and Syria. He defeated the crusaders who came to defend their Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 8th and 9th crusades. Saint Stephen was an early follower of Jesus. He was stoned to death in the mid 4th century CE and is considered the first martyr. Tradition puts the act of stoning outside this eastern gate, hence its name. In this picture we see that the path to the gate is slightly barred by earth. This was cleared around 1880. The second, depicts the Golden Gate or the Gate of Mercy. This gate has always been closed. It leads directly onto the Temple Mount and according to Jewish belief, will open only when the Messiah comes and it is time to rebuild the Temple. Outside the gates is a Moslem cemetery. This photograph was taken by Bonfils it is not titled but it is known as Porte Doree no. 275