Tower of David

Note that there is also another mihrab called Miḥrāb Dāwūd, built into the inner side of the Southern Wall of the Haram esh-Sharif/Temple Mount.

This 773-metre (2,536 ft) high prominence, which comprises the modern Armenian and Jewish Quarters as well as Mount Zion, was bounded by steep valleys on all sides except for the north.

[dubious – discuss] Herod named the tallest of the towers, 44 metres (144 ft) in height, Phasael, in memory of his brother who had committed suicide while in captivity.

[dubious – discuss] This powerful structure withstood the assault of the Crusaders in 1099, and surrendered only when its defenders were guaranteed safe passage out of the city.

To protect pilgrims from the menace of highway robbers, the Crusaders built a tower surrounded by a moat atop the citadel,[dubious – discuss] and posted lookouts to guard the road to Jaffa.

[citation needed][dubious – discuss] In 1310 the citadel was rebuilt by Mamluk sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun, who gave it much of its present shape.

[12] The citadel was expanded between 1537 and 1541 by the Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, whose architects designed a large entrance, behind which stood a cannon emplacement.

The Ottomans also installed a mosque near the southwest corner of the citadel commonly known as the Mihrab el-Qal'a ed-Dawood ('Prayer niche of David's fortress'),[13] erecting a minaret during the years 1635–1655.

During the period of British rule (1917–1948), the High Commissioner for Palestine established the Pro-Jerusalem Society to protect the city's cultural heritage.

This organisation cleaned and renovated the citadel and reopened it to the public as a venue for concerts, benefit events and exhibitions by local artists.

Located in a series of chambers in the original citadel, the museum includes a courtyard which contains archeological remains dating back 2,700 years.