Doors of Durin

The Doors of Durin or West-gate were built in the dark cliffs of the Silvertine mountain and protected the entrance to what became the Orc-hold of Moria, once the Dwarf kingdom of Khazad-dûm. The doors were bordered on each side by two ancient holly trees, symbolising the border of the Elven realm of Eregion or Hollin.
The doors were notable for being inlaid with ithildin, which only reflected starlight or moonlight.
== History ==
=== Second Age ===
Until the Second Age, the primary entrance to Khazad-dûm had been the East-gate. In the friendship between the Elves and the Dwarves, however, the doors were built as a means to aid travel and trade between Khazad-dûm and the elven kingdom of Eregion. Celebrimbor, the great elven-smith, and the dwarf Narvi were the architects, and worked together to create the doors. Later, during the War of the Elves and Sauron, the Doors were sealed after Eregion fell to Sauron's forces.The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B
=== Third Age ===
The way of opening the Doors was forgotten, and they were closed. After the death of Balin, Lord of Moria, five of the Dwarves who had accompanied him tried to use the doors to escape the Moria-orcs; however, the Watcher in the Water took Óin here and the Dwarves could not escape this way.
Later Gollum entered Moria seeking a path over the Misty Mountains, but was not strong enough to open the doors from the inside and was thus trapped.
During the Quest of the Ring, the Fellowship approached the Doors and attempted to enter Moria from there. At first, Gandalf was unsuccessful at opening them, having exited the doors previously from the inside. The inscription was a riddle (in Sindarin: Pedo Mellon a Minno.): "speak friend and enter." The answer was a password in an Elvish language that would cause the Doors to swing open. Gandalf eventually solved the riddle, remembering the Elvish word for friend, mellon.The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, Ch. IV: "A Journey in the Dark"
Inscription in Sindarin
Ennyn Durin Aran Moria.
Pedo Mellon a Minno.
Im Narvi hain echant.
Celebrimbor o Eregion teithant i thiw hin.
Parf Edhellen - Doors of Durin
Translation of inscription
"The Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria.
Speak, friend, and enter.
I, Narvi, made them.
Celebrimbor of Hollin drew these signs."
Tolkien Gateway - Doors of Durin
When entering, the Watcher in the Water grabbed Frodo's ankle to drag him into the lake. Samwise Gamgee slashed the tentacle with his knife, causing it to release Frodo and retract. The Fellowship then ran into the mines while the Watcher slammed the Doors behind them. A great noise was heard of stone and rock being thrown behind the Doors, and Gandalf believed that the two great holly trees on either side had been uprooted and thrown across them.The Complete Guide to Middle-earth After the fall of Sauron, the Dwarves reoccupied Khazad-dûm; it is unknown whether the Doors of Durin were repaired. 
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Afrikaans 	Deure van Durin
Albanian 	Dyer të Durinit
Arabic 	أبواب دورين
Azerbaijani 	Durinın qapıları
Basque 	Durineko ateak
Belarusian Cyrillic	Дурыны дзверы
Bengali 	দুরিনের দরজা
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Врати на дурин
Catalan 	Portes de Durin
Croatian 	Vrata Durina
Danish 	Morias Vestport (Durins døre)
Dutch 	Deuren van Durin/Poorten van Durin
Esperanto 	Pordoj de Durin
Estonian 	Durin uksed
Fijian 	Katuba ni Durin
Filipino 	Mga Pintuan ng Durin
Finnish 	Durinin ovet
French 	Portes de Durin
Frisian 	Doarren fan Durin (Western)
Galician 	Portas de Durin
German 	Türen von Durin
Greek 	Πόρτες του Ντουρίν
Gujarati 	દુરીનના દરવાજા
Hawaiian 	Nā puka o Durin
Hebrew 	דלתות דורין
Hungarian 	Durin kapuja
Indonesian 	Pintu-pintu Durin
Italian 	Porte di Durin
Japanese 	ドゥリンの扉
Latvian 	Durin durvis
Lithuanian 	Durino durimis
Macedonian Cyrillic	Врати на Дурин
Malagasy 	Ny varavaran' ny Durin
Malaysian 	Pintu Durin
Maltese 	Bibien ta ' l-Durin
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Дурин-ийн хаалга
Nepalese 	डोरिनको ढोका
Norwegian 	Dører av Durin
Occitan 	Pòrtas de Durin
Persian 	درب دورین
Polish 	Drzwi Durina
Portuguese 	Portas de Durin
Romanian 	Usi de Durin
Russian 	Врата Дурина
Samoan 	O faitotoa o Durin
Scottish Gaelic 	Dorsan Durin
Serbian 	Врата Дурина (Cyrillic) Vrata Durina (Latin)
Sesotho 	Liholo ea Durin
Sinhalese 	ඩුරින්ගේ දොරවල්
Slovak 	Durinova brána
Slovenian 	Durinova vrata
Somali 	Galka ee Durin ?
Spanish 	Puertas de Durin
Swahili 	Milango ya Durin
Swedish 	Durins Dörrar
Tamil 	டூரின் கதவுகள்
Turkish 	Durin'in kapılar
Uzbek 	Дурин эшиклари (Cyrillic) Durin eshiklari (Latin)
Vietnamese 	Cửa ra vào của Durin
Welsh 	Drysau o Durin
Yiddish 	טירן פון דורין
==References==
fr:Portes de Durin
it:Porte di Durin
pl:Drzwi Durina
Category:Moria
Category:Magical objects
Category:Dwarven objects
Category:Doors
Category:Gates