countries' religious and secular authorities. At the end of the 19th century, there was no further free land for development in the Christian Quarter. In the same period, the Suez Canal had opened and many Christians travelled to the Holy Land. This led to intensified competition between the European powers for influence in Jerusalem. France built hospitals, a monastery, and hostels for visitors outside the Old City adjacent to the Christian Quarter - an area which became known as the French area. The Russians located themselves in the nearby Russian Compound. There was a natural desire for easy travel between the Christian Quarter and the new development, but at the time the Old City walls formed a barrier and travellers were forced to take an indirect path through either Jaffa Gate or Nablus Gate. In 1898, the Ottomans accepted the request of the European countries and breached a new gate in the Old City walls, in the area of the new development. The gate was called the New Gate. Landmarks Churches Church of the Holy Sepulchre Cathedral of Our Lady of the Annunciation (Melkite Greek Catholic church) Co-Cathedral of the Most Holy Name of Jesus (Catholic) Church of the Redeemer (Lutheran) Holy Trinity Cathedral (Russian Orthodox) Church of St John the Baptist (Greek Orthodox) Monasteries Deir es-Sultan (Ethiopian) Monastery of Saint Saviour (Franciscan) Mosques Mosque of Omar (Mamluk) Al-Khanqah al-Salahiyya Mosque (Mamluk) at the site of the Crusader palace of the Latin Patriarch Markets Many of the streets function as typical oriental bazaars or suqs, with the David Street and Christian Quarter Road most prominent among them. Suq Aftimos (19th century) covers much of the Muristan quarter Relation to Armenian Quarter Though formally separate from the main bulk of the Christian Quarter, which houses mostly Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic sites, the Armenians consider their adjacent Armenian Quarter to be part of the Christian Quarter. The three Christian patriarchates of Jerusalem – the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem – as well as the government of Armenia, have all publicly expressed their opposition to any political division of the two quarters. The central reasons for the existence of a separate Armenian Quarter is the distinct language and culture of the Armenians, who, unlike the majority of Christians in Jerusalem, Israel and Palestine, are neither Arab nor Palestinian. References Notes Citations Sources Neighbourhoods