Quick facts

Location and gates

The Armenian Quarter occupies the south-western corner of the Old City of Jerusalem, on the hill of Nabi Dawud. It is bounded by the city wall to the west and south, the Christian Quarter to the north, and the Muslim Quarter and what became the Jewish Quarter to the east. It is entered from Jaffa Gate (Bab al-Khalil) in the west and Zion Gate (Bab al-Nabi Dawud) in the south. Most of the quarter is enclosed by the wall of the St James Convent, making it feel like a small city within the city.

The Armenians of Jerusalem: a history

• Early Christian centuries: the Armenian presence in Palestine dates to the 3rd or 4th century CE, when Armenia embraced Christianity; Armenians were among the first pilgrims to set up hospices and inns for visitors, since their tradition holds that every Christian should make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem at least once.
• 638 CE: according to Armenian tradition, the first Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem received a covenant from Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab recognising the rights of the Armenian Church, and the covenant was inscribed at the entrance of the convent.
• The Crusades and later centuries: the Armenian presence in Jerusalem grew, and the Armenian Patriarchate remained one of the oldest patriarchates in Palestine.
• First World War: survivors of the massacres of the Armenians took refuge in Jerusalem; the city's Armenians commemorate them every year on 24 April.
• Before 1967: some 25,000 Armenians lived in Palestine, many of whom emigrated after the occupation of Jerusalem in 1967.

The Cathedral and Convent of St James

At the heart of the quarter stands the Convent of St James and its cathedral, among the oldest churches in Jerusalem. It houses the Armenian Patriarchate, a theological seminary, the Tarkmanchatz School, the Gulbenkian Library, the Mardigian Museum and a health clinic. The Patriarchate holds the second-largest library of Armenian manuscripts in the world, with more than 3,000 manuscripts, and the convent's press, founded in the 1830s, is the oldest in Jerusalem and Palestine.

Armenian contributions to Palestine

• Printing: Armenians founded the first printing press in Palestine, at the St James Convent, in the 1830s.
• Photography: Armenians introduced photography to Palestine in 1857.
• Ceramics: they founded the country's first decorated ceramics workshops during the British Mandate, and their craftsmen helped restore the ceramic tiles of the Dome of the Rock.
• Crafts: they excelled in tailoring and jewellery, and their shops remain part of Jerusalem's markets.

Part of Jerusalem's fabric

Jerusalem's Armenians see themselves as part of the city's social mosaic, with close ties to their Christian and Muslim neighbours. The Armenian Patriarchate has rejected placing the convent under Israeli sovereignty and confronted the occupation authorities in the 1990s over taxes and interference in its affairs, while Armenians stress that their presence in Jerusalem predates all of the successive occupations.

The "Cows' Garden" affair

In 2021 the Armenian Patriarchate signed an agreement leasing a plot in the quarter known locally as the "Cows' Garden", after its old use as grazing land, to a company owned by an Israeli businessman for 98 years, to build a luxury hotel. The deal would have cost the Armenians nearly a quarter of their quarter. When its terms came to light in 2023, young people from the quarter launched the "Save the Armenian Quarter" movement, staging a permanent sit-in on the land and weekly vigils, arguing that the deal breached Patriarchate rules requiring wider approval for any lease longer than 25 years. On 26 October 2023 the Patriarchate announced that the deal was cancelled under community pressure. But on 5 November 2023 company representatives stormed the land with armed men and dogs, and some 15 armed settlers demolished parts of a stone wall and the asphalt surface; residents confronted them and took turns guarding the land.

The quarter today (2026)

Between 3,000 and 5,000 Armenians live in the quarter today, their numbers shrinking through emigration for study and work. The St James Convent, its library and its cathedral remain the heart of the quarter, while residents face settlement pressure and attempts to seize their land, along with repeated attacks on clergy and church property in the Old City. With its walls, convents and crafts, the Armenian Quarter remains a witness to Jerusalem's diversity and to a community rooted there for more than sixteen centuries.

Frequently asked questions

Conclusion

Behind the walls of the St James Convent, Armenians have lived in Jerusalem for sixteen centuries, preserving their manuscripts, introducing printing and photography, and adorning the Dome of the Rock with their ceramics. Today, as they defend the Cows' Garden and the survival of their quarter, Jerusalem's Armenians affirm that they are an inseparable part of the city and its people, and that Jerusalem is only complete in its plurality.