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Jerusalem’s Gates: Damascus Gate Traditional Geocache

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

Size: Size:   micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:


You are looking for a micro container, with a nice view of the gate. There are a lot of muggles around therefore MAXIMUM STEALTH IS REQUIRED. Bring your own pen to sign the logbook.

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 Damascus Gate (Hebrew: Sha'ar Shkhem, Arabic: Bab al-Amoud; also known as Shechem Gate or Nablus Gate) is an important gate in the Old City of Jerusalem. The modern gate was built in 1542 by the Ottoman ruler Suleiman the Magnificent. The original gate was presumably built in Second Temple times. The Romans built a new gate at the time of Hadrian, in the second century AD. In front of the gate stood a Roman victory column, shown on the Madaba Map, thus giving the gate its name in Arabic to this day, Bab el-Amud, The Column Gate. The column has never been found, but the Roman gate can be seen today, due to excavations made during the British mandate. This was the northern entrance gate to the city at the time of the Crusades. The gate has two towers, each equipped with machicolations. It is located at the edge of the Arab bazaar and marketplace. In contrast to the Jaffa Gate, where stairs rise towards the gate, in the Damascus Gate, the stairs descend towards the gate. 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)

Oyhr thz obggyr va gur cynfgvp pnoyr cvcr. Oruvaq gur N/P havg.

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)