The Muristan is an open square in the heart of the Christian Quarter, surrounded by shops, restaurants, and the remains of one of the most important institutions in the history of Western medicine. The name comes from the Persian word “bimaristan” (hospital), and the site is where the Knights Hospitaller, the Order of St. John, established the hospital that gave them their name and changed the course of medical history.
Hospital
In the 11th century, Italian merchants from Amalfi built a hospital near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to care for sick and injured pilgrims. After the Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099, the hospital expanded dramatically under the leadership of Brother Gerard, who transformed it into a vast medical complex that could treat up to 2,000 patients at a time. The institution grew into the Order of the Knights of the Hospital of St. John, a military-religious order that combined fighting with healing, and that still exists today as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
Square
Today, the Muristan is a pleasant open area with a fountain at its center, surrounded by shops selling leather goods, ceramics, and souvenirs. The Church of St. John the Baptist, a small 11th-century church built by the Amalfitan merchants, survives on the southern edge of the square. It is one of the oldest churches in Jerusalem still in use, and its modest facade hides a surprisingly atmospheric interior with ancient columns and worn stone floors.
Lutheran Connection
The Church of the Redeemer, the Lutheran church with the best tower view in the Old City, stands on the northern edge of the Muristan. The Ottoman Sultan gave the land to Kaiser Wilhelm II during his 1898 visit, and the church was built on the foundations of the medieval Crusader church of Santa Maria Latina.
Visit with Hoshen Tours
The Muristan connects the Crusader story to the medical story to the modern market. Hoshen Tours pauses here to tell the tale of the Knights Hospitaller on the way to or from the Holy Sepulchre.