Description of the attraction
The Dome of the Rock is a dazzling sanctuary sparkling in the rays of the sun, as if hovering over Jerusalem. It stands on the Temple Mount next to the al-Aqsa Mosque. The place is a bone of contention between Jews and Muslims. It is called the most contested real estate in the world.
Almost three thousand years ago, King Solomon erected the First Temple here, in the Holy of Holies of which stood the Ark with the stone tablets received by Moses from the Lord. In 586 BC. NS. the Babylonians captured Jerusalem, drove the Jews into slavery, and destroyed the sanctuary. In 368 BC. NS. the people, returning from the Babylonian captivity, began to build the Second Temple. Its construction was completed in 20 by King Herod the Great, known for the biblical beating of babies. Half a century later, the Romans took Jerusalem and destroyed the Second Temple. Among the ruins remained a powerful artificial platform, on which in the 7th century Muslims began to build their religious buildings.
At the behest of the fifth caliph from the Umayyad dynasty, Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, the Dome of the Rock was erected here in 687-691. It is built over the Foundation Stone, indicating the place where the Holy of Holies of the Jewish Jerusalem Temple was located. In the Jewish tradition, a stone (more precisely, a rock about eighteen meters long and more than thirteen meters wide) is considered the cornerstone of the universe. In Islam, it has a completely different meaning: it is believed that the prophet Muhammad made his ascension to heaven (miraj) from this stone.
This event dates back to 621. According to hadiths (legends), once the angel Jabrail appeared to the prophet. Together with Muhammad, they, riding on the sentient winged animal al-Burak, made a night journey to Jerusalem (1240 kilometers one way). From here Muhammad ascended to the throne of Allah. Having received important instructions from Allah, he returned to Mecca that same night. The journey itself, the hadiths say, lasted only a moment - the jug accidentally overturned by the angel Jabrail did not have time to spill.
The Dome of the Rock is an amazing structure built by Islamic engineers. When designing, they used the measurements of the Christian Church of the Holy Sepulcher, almost exactly repeating its dome with a diameter of more than twenty meters. During the time of Suleiman the Magnificent, the facades of the buildings were covered with wonderful tiled tiles. The dome itself was re-coated with a bronze-colored aluminum alloy in 1965, but was replaced with gold in 1993. King Hussein of Jordan sold one of his houses in London to buy the necessary 80 kilograms of the precious metal.
The interior of the Dome is richly decorated with mosaics in which suras of the Koran are inscribed. The sacred stone is surrounded by a gilded lattice - it is strictly forbidden to touch it.
During the 1967 Six Day War, an Israeli assault force broke through here. The flag of Israel was raised over the Dome, Rav Goren entered the building with a Torah scroll and a shofar (a ritual horn that was blown on special occasions). However, the territory of the Temple Mount was soon transferred to the Islamic waqf (a special form of use of real estate), which is controlled by Muslims.
