The Western Wall (Hebrew: ????? ??????, translit.: HaKotel HaMa'aravi), or simply the Kotel (Yiddish pronunciation: Kosel), is a Jewish religious site located in the Old City of Jerusalem. The wall itself dates from the Second Temple period, (516 BCE - 70 CE). It is sometimes referred to as the Wailing Wall (), referring to Jews who come to the site to mourn the destruction of the Holy Temple. Location and dimensions The Western Wall commonly refers to an exposed section of ancient wall situated on the western flank of the Temple Mount. This section faces a large plaza and is set aside for prayer. In reality however, the Western Wall stretches for , most of which is hidden behind residential structures built along its length. Other revealed sections include the southern part of the Wall which measures approximately 80 metres and another much shorter section known as the Little Western Wall which is located close to the Iron Gate. The wall functions as a retaining wall, built to supp

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wailing Wall
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