Considered one of the holiest sites in Judaism, the Western Wall is located in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City. The wall is in fact a remnant of a retaining wall that once surrounded the Second Temple of Jerusalem and is considered holy due to its connection to the destroyed Temple.  The Western Wall is also known by its Hebrew name (Kotel) and the Wailing Wall due to the fact that Jews weep at the site over the destruction of the First and Second Temples.  During the Arab-Israeli War of 1948, the Jewish Quarter was captured by the Jordanians and Jews were barred from praying at the Wall for 19 years. This ended in 1967 when Israel regained control of the area during the Six Day War and Jews were allowed to return to pray there once more.  A plaza to accommodate the crowds was built in front of the wall soon after the war.

The prayer plaza is open every single day of the year, 24 hours a day. It hosts daily prayer services, Bar Mitzvah ceremonies, military swearing-in ceremonies and more, and the area is always bustling. Visitors come from all over the wall to enjoy the unique atmosphere, to pray, or to stick notes of wishes and thanks in the cracks of this ancient wall.  The plaza is particularly busy on the fast of Tisha B’Av, a national day of mourning which marks the destruction of the Temple, as well as on Jerusalem Day, celebrating the reunification of Jerusalem.