Mea Sharim

This quarter was founded in 1874, the second settlement outside the city walls, to the north-west of the Old City. It was originally settled by a hundred families of very religious Jews from the Old City and remains a strongly Orthodox area.

The name was taken from the account of Yitzchak in the Bible: Then Yitzchak sowed in that land and received in that same year an hundredfold (Hebrew: mea shearim) and the Lord blessed him. (Genesis ch. 26 v. 12).

For many years this quarter was protected by a wall in which there were several gates. According to popular tradition there were a hundred gates hence the name Mea Shearim, which also means a hundred gates.

Many of the buildings in the quarter have small balconies with iron grilles that overhang the cloistered lanes, streets and alleys. There are patios and courtyards and the general atmosphere is that of the lost shtetls of eastern Europe where the residents' ancestors came from.

There are many synagogues and yeshivot in this area. Its inhabitants have retained the type of life practised and the garments worn in the ghettos of Europe - long beards, payot (side curls). On Shabbat the men wear black caftans and round, fur-bordered hats (streimel).

The Neturei Karta (Aramaic for Guardians of the City) are a very orthodox sect who live in Mea Shearim.