What is Western Wall in Jerusalem?

#100waysoftravel The Western Wall (wailing wall) is 488 meters long. The section of the Western Wall (wailing wall) that is visible at the Prayer Plaza is comprised of 46 layers of stone. Twenty nine of these layers are exposed above ground and contain stones from different time periods. If you were to ask an Israeli what the Western Wall is, he or she would probably tell you that it is the most sacred place in the world for Jews and that it was part of the Second Temple. Both of these beliefs are incorrect. So what is the significance of the Western Wall? King Solomon built the First Temple. It stood at the top of Mount Moriah. This is also the place where, according to the Bible, Abraham almost sacrificed his son Isaac.The Temple stood for four hundred years, until the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem and destroyed it in 586 BCE. King Herod, who was known for his massive building projects, decided that he would build four huge supporting walls around the mountain peak and thus transform it into a great level platform. On this man-made platform he rebuilt the Temple. The Western Wall is actually a small part (about one-seventh) of one of the large supporting walls. In the year 70 CE, during the Jewish rebellion against the Romans, Jerusalem was conquered and the Temple was destroyed. After the rebellion Jews were not permitted to go up to the area of the Temple Mount, where the temple had stood, and started praying next to different parts of the retaining wall that had supported it. The Wailing Wall is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week for everybody. The Wailing Wall is basically an open-air synagogue, so there is a separation between men and women. Anyone can walk to the wall, pray there or just have a look, but do be respectful of others