Dome of the Rock

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The Dome of the Rock (Arabic: قبة الصخرة Qubbat As-Sakhrah) is a famous Islamic shrine in Jerusalem. It was built between 687 and 691 by the 9th Caliph, Abd al-Malik. It is sometimes called the Mosque of Umar (though it is not a mosque), as 2nd Caliph Umar prayed at the site after the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem in 637.

Located in what Muslims call the Noble Sanctuary — which Jews and Christians call the Temple Mount — it remains one of the best known landmarks of Jerusalem, and is sacred to all three faiths. The rock in the center of the dome is believed by Muslims to be the spot from which Muhammad ascended through the heavens to God accompanied by the angel Gabriel, where he consulted with Moses and was given the (now obligatory) Islamic prayers before returning to earth (see Isra and Mi'raj.) Though the location is not historically certain, a Qur'anic verse says that Muhammad took a night journey from a sacred mosque (probably Mecca) to the farthest mosque (al-Masjid al-Aqsa), which later came to be associated with Jerusalem, although Jerusalem itself is never mentioned in the Qur'an.

The Jews and Christians believe this place to be Mount Moriah, the location where Abraham almost sacrificed his son Isaac at the command of God, where Jacob saw the ladder to heaven, where the innermost chamber of the Jewish Temple stood. Other, extra-Biblical Jewish traditions say it is the spot where the first stone was laid in the building of the world.

The Dome of the Rock was built for Caliph Abd al-Malik by Byzantine craftsmen from Constantinople sent to the Caliph by the Byzantine Emperor. It is in the shape of a Byzantine martyrium, a structure intended for the housing and veneration of saintly relics and is an excellent example of middle Byzantine art.

Image:MosqueOfOmar1914.jpg Image:Dome of the rock close.jpg Essentially unchanged for more than thirteen centuries, the octagonally-shaped Dome of the Rock remains one of the world's most beautiful and enduring architectural treasures. The gold covered dome stretches 20 metres across the Noble Rock, rising to an apex more than 35 metres above it. The Qur'anic verse 'Ya Sin' is inscribed across the top in the dazzling tile work commissioned in the 16th century by Suleiman the Magnificent. The sura al-Isra'a (The Night Journey), is inscribed above YaSin. In 1993, the golden dome covering was replaced, courtesy of King Hussein of Jordan, due to rust and wear.

During the Crusades, the Knights Templar, who believe the Dome of the Rock to be near the ruins of the Temple of Solomon, made their headquarters in the Al-Aqsa Mosque adjacent to the Dome for much of the 12th century. They called it the "Templum Domini", and it was the location from which they took their name "Templar". It appeared in some of the seals of the Order's Grand Masters (such as Evrard de Barres and Regnaud de Vichier), and its architecture was a model for Templar churches across Europe.

The Temple Mount and Eretz Yisrael Faithful Movement wish to relocate the Dome to Mecca and replace it with a Third Temple. Since the Dome is on sacred ground to the Muslims this is not an option. The majority of Israelis also do not share the movement's wishes.

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