Before 1948, anyone wanting to visit the Western Wall had to go through a slum-area neighborhood. It was a narrow area where the authorities didn’t allow anyone to bring in chairs or tables or temporary partitions. Muslims were known to use the area as a shortcut and to lead animals through the narrow passageway.
Today, the Kotel haKatan – the “small wall” – looks a great deal like the more famous, bigger Kotel looked in the 1920s.
HaKotel HaKatan is north of the other Kotel, and it is positioned closer to the site of the Holy of Holies. It should be where people pray when they visit Jerusalem
Just like then, Jews aren’t allowed to bring in tables or chairs. Just like then, if you blow a shofar at the smaller Kotel you can get arrested.
And when I visited on Friday, I saw that just like then, Muslims will use it as a shortcut to get where they were going. They looked curiously at me, since I was the only Jew at this site that is holier than the Kotel.
As I recall, the far wall of the area was not open the last time I was there. But now there is an opening to a set of narrow stairs that is apparently a path to another alley.
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