Palestine · West Bank · East Jerusalem
Silwan, East Jerusalem — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Silwan, or Siloam, is a predominantly Palestinian district of East Jerusalem, on the outskirts beyond the Old City's southeastern corner.
About Silwan
Where to stay in Silwan
Where you base yourself shapes the visit — here's the character of each area.
Silwan runs down the slope below the Old City walls, and a stay here puts the Eastern Wall within a walk rather than a bus ride. The neighbourhood is residential, so many visitors base themselves inside East Jerusalem's older quarters and walk out to Siloam by day. Siloam's lanes reward walking.
Pick Silwan itself for a base on the Old City's southeastern edge, with the Masjid Al-Aqsa compound and the Western Wall just inside the walls.
About Silwan
What are the main landmarks in Silwan?
Siloam's landmark list is borrowed. The named monuments of this corner belong to the Old City, and the Eastern Wall is the stretch of rampart that faces the neighbourhood most directly. Behind it stand the Masjid Al-Aqsa compound, the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Tower of David.
The Islamic Museum holds its collection within the walls. Further out in East Jerusalem, the Palestine Archaeological Museum, the Church of All Nations, and the Church of Mary Magdalene complete the ring of monuments that stands around Siloam.
What is the history of Silwan?
Silwan and Siloam are two names for one place. The district took shape outside the walls, on the slopes that fall away from the southeastern corner of the Old City, and it has been a predominantly Palestinian quarter of East Jerusalem throughout the period the record covers. Proximity to the Eastern Wall has shaped how Silwan is described and mapped, more than any single building inside the neighbourhood itself.
Where is Silwan?
Silwan occupies the slopes outside the southeastern corner of the Old City, within the built-up spread of East Jerusalem below the Eastern Wall.
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More areas in East Jerusalem
Updated September 2026