St. Anne's Basilica & pool of Bethesda

Located just 60 meters inside Lions Gate in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City, is a wooden doorway that leads into the tranquil garden compound housing the Crusader  Era  Church  of  Saint  Anne  and  the  Pools  of  Bethesda  archaeological site. The compound is owned by the French government and is administered by the Catholic order of the White Fathers, named for the white robes they wear. Believed  to  be  the  birthplace  of  the Virgin Mary as well  as the  site  of one  of Jesus’s miracles, it is an important pilgrimage site for Christian visitors. The Church of Saint Anne is believed to be built on the spot where Anne and Joachim, the parents of Mary mother of Jesus lived and where the Virgin Mary was born. The Church was built in 1130CE by the Crusaders on the ruins of a 5th century Byzantine Basilica.  After the conquest  of Salah Ad-Din in 1187CE,  the church was converted into a Madrasa – Islamic religious school, and still bears an inscription in Arabic at its entrance noting this change. During the Ottoman period the structure was abandoned and fell into disrepair, until 1856, when it was  gifted  to  Napoleon  III  by  Ottoman  Sultan  Abdulmecid  I  in  recognition  of their support during the Crimean War. France carried out extensive restoration efforts  to  restore  the  Crusader  church.  Today  it  is  open  to  visitors,  who  can descend a staircase into the crypt which is believed to have been the home of Anne  and  Joachim  and  the  birthplace  of  Mary.  One  of  the  most  notable features   of   the   Church   is   its   extraordinary   acoustics,   perfectly   suited   to Gregorian chants. Visitors are welcome sing within the Church, as long as the songs   are   religious   (of   any   religion),   and   many   can   be   heard   doing   so throughout the day. Just   steps   away,   within   the   same   compound,   is   the   Pools   of   Bethesda archaeological  site  that  can  be  visited  for  a  fee.  During  excavations  in  the 1900s, two large water reservoirs were uncovered, dating back to the First and Second Temple Periods as well as the remnants of Roman bath houses and a Roman  temple  dedicated  to  Asclepius,  the  medicine  god.  The  site  also  holds significance to Christian pilgrims because it is believed that it was in these pools that Jesus healed the paralytic. Commemorating this miracle and because of its proximity to the birthplace of Mary, the Byzantine Basilica of Saint Mary of the Probatic  was  built  over  the  pools.  Although  it  was  damaged  in  614CE  by  the