Little Western Wall

The Little Western Wall, also known as HaKotel HaKatan (or just Kotel Katan) and the Small Kotel, (Hebrew: הכותל הקטן‎‎), is a Jewish religious site located in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem near the Iron Gate to the Temple Mount. The wall itself dates from the Second Temple period, (516 BCE – 70 CE). It is the continuation of the larger part of the Western Wall and almost exactly faces the Holy of Holies. HaKotel HaKatan is not as well-known and not as crowded as the larger part of the Western Wall. This section of the wall is of deep spiritual significance because of its close proximity to the Holy of Holies. However, it is not the closest location to the Holy of Holies, as there is a location in the Western Wall Tunnel which directly faces the Holy of Holies.

Unlike the more famous Western Wall, the Kotel Katan does not have a large plaza facing it, by which it resembles quite exactly the situation of the Wailing Wall until 1967. It is a narrow alley and only the two lowest courses (rows of building stones) date from the Second Temple period. Unlike those on the Western Wall, the stones have not been worn smooth by the touch of millions of worshippers. The Kotel Katan resembles the Western Wall as it appeared before the Six Day War. After it was recaptured by Israel, the Western Wall plaza was expanded to its current size.

The passage alongside the wall is a courtyard of Ribat Kurd, a hospice for Muslim pilgrims founded in 1293 or 96 by Sayf al-Din Kurd al-Mansuri, a mamluk of Sultan Qalawun. The entrance portal and passage are original, but other parts of the structure date from later periods.

Because the Kotel Katan is much closer to the site of the possible location of the Holy of Holies than the larger Western Wall, it has significance to Jews, who wish to continue to pray at the site.

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Wikipedia