The Karaite quarter is identified by three different names: The Slope of the Thousand (Zela Ha-Elef), 'The Easterners' Quarter' (as they allegedly came from Babylon) and 'the Samartake'.

The location of the Karaite quarter remains enigmatic. Some believe that it was on the western slope of the Mount of Olives and the Hill of Offence, others place it in the southeastern part of Jerusalem identified with the City of David, between the Siloam pool and the gates that were later known as al-Balat and Jubb Irmiya.