Under the Omayyads, Jerusalem was never the seat of government; the capital
of the Arab empire was Damascus, except for a brief period when rule was
centered at Ramla, the only city built by the Arabs in the region. To the
Islamic world, Jerusalem was al-Quds ("The Holy").
Sites and archaeological finds related to earliest Muslim-era Jerusalem
 Archaeological excavations south and west
of the Temple Mount revealed the remains of five palaces built by Jerusalem's
Omayyad rulers. Their foundations (left) can be seen in the Ophel
Archaeological Park, just inside the Dung Gate of the Old City. The area
of each palace was 1.25 to 1.75 acres and each had a similar plan: a central
courtyard surrounded by stoas, a passage to the stoas, and elongated rooms
with pillars and arches supporting the ceiling. Some of the buildings had
two stories. One, apparently the palace of the Omayyad ruler, was attached
to the wall of al-Aksa Mosque and contained a direct passage into it. Also
discovered was a magnificent bath house and a water-carrying system.
Dome of the Rock
 The Dome of the Rock is built
as shrine for the Holy Rock, al-Sakhra, from which the prophet Mohammed
is thought to have ascended to heaven.* In the Jewish tradition this is
the "foundation stone," the symbolic foundation upon which the
world was created, and the place where Abraham bound Isaac. This is the
oldest Muslim building to have survived basically intact in its original
form and today it dominates the skyline of Jerusalem, as it was meant to
do from the time of its construction. It does so primarily because of its
height, but also because of its physical isolated from everything else around
it and because it alone, in a city of stone, is roofed with gold.
The Dome of the Rock is intended as pilgrimage site rather than a mosque
for regular worship, and it is centered on the highest point of the Temple
Mount, known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif ("The Noble Sanctuary"),
on the place where the temples of Solomon, Zerubbabel and Herod may have
stood. It sits on an elevated platform reached by eight staircases, at the
top of which are delicate archways or qanatir, known popularly as
"mawazim" or scales because, according to Muslim tradition, scales
will be hung there to weigh the souls of humanity on Judgment Day.
Geometric principles where use in constructing the Dome of the Rock.
The shining dome itself is slightly over 65 feet in diameter and it rises
atop a cylinder to a height of some 98 feet. The octagonal base is oriented
to the points of the compass and the four entrance doors face toward the
cardinal directions. The dazzling exterior is covered with multi-colored
mosaic tiles in yellow, red, blue, green, gray, black and gold, forming
shimmering patterns against the blue sky. They are faithful copies of the
Persian tiles that the Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent added in
1545 to replace the badly damaged original mosaics. In 1961 the gilded wooden
dome was replaced with by one of gold-colored anodized aluminum; in 1994
this roof was covered with 24-caret gold-leaf thanks to the government of
Saudi Arabia.
 The exterior, however, provides
only a foretaste of the wondrous interior which is calculated to make the
scarred and pitted rock in the center seem to leap upward toward heaven.
Everything about this enclosed space seems light and open. The columns,
sculpted from variegated marble, were resurrected from churches ruined by
the Persian king Khosru III in 614 AD, and some still have their original
crosses. Hardly an inch was left undecorated. The dome is supported by a
drum which in turn rests on a circle of 12 columns and 4 piers. Around this
is an outer set of 16 columns and 8 piers. They are positioned in such a
way that one pillar almost never obstructs another, allowing for a direct
line of sight across the building. The walls, ceiling, arches, and vaults
are covered with floral images. The inside of the dome (right)
is covered with a gold, red, white and green arabesque design, deceasing
in size from bottom to top, adding to the illusion of height. The floors
are entirely covered with thick handmade carpets, and visitors must remove
their shoes before entering. The sacred rock projects about 5 feet above
the floor, but it is hardly visible upon entering the building, as it us
surrounded by a low wooden screen. In one corner of the Rock is a lattice-work
wooden cabinet supposedly containing a hair from the prophet Mohammed's
beard. Sixteen marble steps lead to a cave-like chamber below the Rock known
in Arabic as Bir Al-Arwah ("Well of the Souls"), now used for
devotions and containing a pair of mihrabs, prayer niches symbolizing the
presence of Mohammed and indicating the direction of Mecca. In former times,
those Muslims who prayed here were given a certificate, to be buried with
them, ensuring their admission to heaven. Glass partitions have been erected
to stop pilgrims from chipping away portions of the rock as mementos. Tradition
further holds that this rock is where the supreme act of faith occurred
that stands as the very foundation of the three monotheistic religions—Islam,
Judaism and Christianity. Genesis 22 relates how Abram (Abraham) followed
God's instructions to go to a unnamed mountain in the "region of Moriah"
and sacrifice his beloved son Isaac. At the last minute, the God intervened
and ordered Abram to lower his knife and, instead, provided a ram as a sacrifice.
Over time, Abram's sacrificial mountain became Mount Moriah, and history
and legend have combined to place it squarely within Jerusalem.
Al-Aqsa Mosque
 At the southern end of the
Temple Mount is the black-domed al-Aqsa Mosque, a name meaning "the
farthest" because, according to Muslim belief, Mohammed was awakened
one night and taken to the masjad al-aqsa, "the furthermost
sanctuary" (not determined geographically), from where he rose to heaven.
The tradition evolved that Jerusalem was the the masjad al-aqsa—the furthermost
place where Mohammed was taken on his night journey—hence, the name al-Aqsa.
Originally, "al-Aqsa" was applied to the whole of the Temple Mount;
eventually its use was restricted to the great prayer mosque at the southern
end.
In Jesus time, a roofed colonnade (Royal Stoa) ran east-west along the
top of the wall where the dome of the al-Aqsa is today. Among other functions,
it was the meeting place of the Sanhedrin, the 71 member Jewish supreme
court. The Crusaders misidentified al-Aqsa as the palace built by Solomon and
converted it into a residence for the new ruler of Jerusalem. It proved
unsuitable and was later converted into a headquarters for a newly created
Knights Templar, dwellers of the temple.
The al-Aqsa Mosque was constructed in several stages; at first as a large
wooden building that could accommodate 3000 worshipers, built between 709 and
715 AD. This first mosque was replaced by an immense stone building.
According to historic records, it was damaged by earthquakes in 774, 777
and 1033. Between 1938 and 1942, it was extensively refurbished by the Egyptian
government; the 75 Carrara marble columns that divide the interior date
from this restoration and were a gift from Mussolini. Then in l969 the al-Aqsa
was badly damaged by a fire deliberately started in three places.
It destroyed much of the marble paneling, some of the mosaics and the superb
pulpit, inlaid with ivory and mother-of-pearl, which was the gift of Saladin
in 1168.
Today the El Aqsa Mosque is a huge hall (269 x 180 ft), with seven rows of
columns supporting the roof. The center for Muslim prayer in Jerusalem, it can
accommodate some 5000 worshipers. The roughly 50-foot-high dome is constructed
of wood sheathed in lead and it is supported by four arches and eight pillars.
It was last restored in 1927. In the southern wall is a prayer niche pointing the way
towards Mecca, the holy city of Islam. This mosaic- decorated wall is one
of the few remnants of the original mosque. Near the mihrab (pulpit) is
a preacher's platform and another elevated one for the leader of the service.
There is no other furniture in the spacious hall; the congregation sits
and prostrates on the carpet covered floor.
East of the main hall are three
rooms. One, the Mihrab of Zachariah, is a small Crusader chapel
with a typical medieval rose window and other architectural features of
that period. West of the main hall is a smaller one of the Crusader period,
used today as a women's prayer hall. On July 20, 1951, King Abdullah of
Jordan was assassinated here, and his grandson, the late King Hussein, escaped
the same fate thanks to the heavy decoration he was wearing on his chest.
Bullet marks are still visible on one of the columns near the entrance.
Right, carpeted interior of the al-Aqsa Mosque |
First, Abd al-Malik informed his
governors of his intent to "build a dome over the rock in the Holy
City," then he issued an edict forbidding his subjects to make the
pilgrimage to Mecca. He followed this up with a journey to Jerusalem to
convey his wishes directly to the men who would oversee the project. He
ordered them to build a model of their proposed design. This small prototype—now
called the Dome of the Chain (Qubbat as-Silsila)—still stands in the shadow
of the great domed structure it inspired (far right
in photo). It owes its name to the legend that Solomon hung a chain
from its roof and those who swore falsely while holding it were struck by
lightning.
