"Jerusalem"- a city holy to two-third of mankind has a heavy price to pay for its sanctity. In Israel, depending upon whom you interact, even the name of Jerusalem is different. A Jew will always prefer "Yerushalayim" while an Arab goes with "Al Quds". For instance, if I ask an Israeli bus driver for a ticket to Al Quds or the other way round in an Arab dominated area, I am sure the response won’t be pleasant. My point is that in a city where such stark differences exist even in the way how its name is pronounced, you can imagine the depth of complication if one has to deal with its most important site. Known as the ‘Temple Mount’ (Har Ha’bayit) for Jews and ‘Haram es-Sharif’ (Noble Sanctuary) for Muslims, the heart of Jerusalem is a 36 acre land. It is with no doubt the most sensitive and controversial religiopolitical site in the world. Any major escalated conflict in the region would definitely be a third World War.
The most sacred site in Judaism is known as the ‘Temple Mount’ as here stood both the First and Second Jerusalem Temples for nearly 1,000 years (960 BC to 586 BC; 536 BC to 70 AD), where millions of Jews from all over the world made the three festival pilgrimages. Whenever and wherever Jews prayed, they faced Jerusalem and in Jerusalem, they pray in the direction of the Temple Mount. On the other hand, f0r Muslims it is the third holiest site after Mecca and Medina. The site commemorates Prophet Muhammad’s journey to Jerusalem and ascension to heaven. Today, what stands in the area is completely Islamic, the most important being the ‘Dome of the Rock’ and the Al Aqsa Mosque-the oldest extant Islamic structures in the world. (See more details later).
The political situation is so intrigue today that, Muslims believe /expected to believe that Jews have no history in the city of Jerusalem; they have never lived there and their Temple never existed. The official Islamic stand is that not even an inch on the mount is negotiable. On the contrary, according to orthodox Jewish belief, a third Temple is destined to be built, that can usher the days of Messiah. In June 1967, Israel conquered the whole Temple Mount and an Israeli flag was hoisted over the ‘Dome of the Rock’. However, Israel’s Defense Minister Moshe Dayan allowed the Muslim religious council (the Waqf) to retain the Temple Mount. A decision painfully regretted by many Israelis today, as rarely would any nation do that if the site happens to be the very symbol of its ancient heritage.
Today, although the Temple Mount remains under Israeli sovereignty, the Muslim religious council (Waqf) controls the whole area. The Waqf religious trust, which again is under Jordanian control, has the whole authority to decide the internal matters. However, the security inside and into the Temple Mount is controlled by Israelis. At present (since 2003) non-Muslims can enter the Temple Mount compound for a few hours (approximately Sun-Thurs, 7:30-10:00 am, 12:30-1:30 pm) except Fridays, Saturdays and Muslim Holidays through Morocco/Mugrabi Gate. Between 2000 and 2003, non-Muslims were completely barred from the Temple Mount area, until Israel decided unilaterally to reverse the ban. Before the outbreak of the second intifada in September 2000, these visits had to be coordinated with the Waqf. Access into the ‘Dome of the Rock’ and Al Aqsa is strictly denied to non-Muslims and you are not permitted to pray or carry any non-Islamic religious texts to the Temple Mount area.
Ironically, Jewish religious law sternly warns against anyone from entering the Temple Mount owing to the sacredness of the place. As exact location of ‘the Holy of Holies’ in the Temple Mount (where only the Jewish High Priest was allowed) is unknown, you may be defiling the holiest site of Judaism unknowingly! Israelis complain about Muslim construction and excavation on and underneath the Temple Mount as an attempt to destroy Jewish heritage, while Muslims accuse Israeli excavations near the Temple Mount as an effort to Judaize the whole area. Tensions always prevail frequently in the Temple Mount area. One recent example to cite would be the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to the Temple Mount in September, 2000. His visit started the Second Intifada (Palestinian Uprising) which resulted in the loss of some 7000 lives. As I am uploading this text, today’s flash news in Yedioth pops out as “Group of tourists enters holy site in Jerusalem accompanied by police force. Some 150 Muslim worshippers gather around them, some hurling stones. Eighteen policemen, 17 worshippers lightly hurt; 11 people detained”.
Back to my visit to the Temple Mount; it’s my second trip after 17 months. Last time it was done in a hurry and I could not explore much. It should be noted that there are around 100 buildings or monuments inside the Temple Mount area. Almost all of them are Islamic today. My attempt is to take you through all these structures that are open to the public. I hope I have been fair enough to cover most of them. I can’t help you with the areas inside the ‘Dome of the Rock’ and the Al Aqsa Mosque. Apart from the ‘Dome’ and Al Aqsa, I would suggest you not to miss the foundation stones of Antonia Fortress and the views to the Golden Gate from inside the Temple Mount. For all those who wanted to see what is inside the Dome of the Rock, the Al Aqsa Mosque and Solomon's Stables;
here is a rare video link. Enjoy!
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3157331,00.html
Here is also a nice recent site for the Virtual Walking Tour of al-Haram al-Sharif (the Temple Mount)
http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200901/a.virtual.walking.tour.al-haram.al-sharif.htm
The most sacred site in Judaism is known as the ‘Temple Mount’ as here stood both the First and Second Jerusalem Temples for nearly 1,000 years (960 BC to 586 BC; 536 BC to 70 AD), where millions of Jews from all over the world made the three festival pilgrimages. Whenever and wherever Jews prayed, they faced Jerusalem and in Jerusalem, they pray in the direction of the Temple Mount. On the other hand, f0r Muslims it is the third holiest site after Mecca and Medina. The site commemorates Prophet Muhammad’s journey to Jerusalem and ascension to heaven. Today, what stands in the area is completely Islamic, the most important being the ‘Dome of the Rock’ and the Al Aqsa Mosque-the oldest extant Islamic structures in the world. (See more details later).
The political situation is so intrigue today that, Muslims believe /expected to believe that Jews have no history in the city of Jerusalem; they have never lived there and their Temple never existed. The official Islamic stand is that not even an inch on the mount is negotiable. On the contrary, according to orthodox Jewish belief, a third Temple is destined to be built, that can usher the days of Messiah. In June 1967, Israel conquered the whole Temple Mount and an Israeli flag was hoisted over the ‘Dome of the Rock’. However, Israel’s Defense Minister Moshe Dayan allowed the Muslim religious council (the Waqf) to retain the Temple Mount. A decision painfully regretted by many Israelis today, as rarely would any nation do that if the site happens to be the very symbol of its ancient heritage.
Today, although the Temple Mount remains under Israeli sovereignty, the Muslim religious council (Waqf) controls the whole area. The Waqf religious trust, which again is under Jordanian control, has the whole authority to decide the internal matters. However, the security inside and into the Temple Mount is controlled by Israelis. At present (since 2003) non-Muslims can enter the Temple Mount compound for a few hours (approximately Sun-Thurs, 7:30-10:00 am, 12:30-1:30 pm) except Fridays, Saturdays and Muslim Holidays through Morocco/Mugrabi Gate. Between 2000 and 2003, non-Muslims were completely barred from the Temple Mount area, until Israel decided unilaterally to reverse the ban. Before the outbreak of the second intifada in September 2000, these visits had to be coordinated with the Waqf. Access into the ‘Dome of the Rock’ and Al Aqsa is strictly denied to non-Muslims and you are not permitted to pray or carry any non-Islamic religious texts to the Temple Mount area.
Ironically, Jewish religious law sternly warns against anyone from entering the Temple Mount owing to the sacredness of the place. As exact location of ‘the Holy of Holies’ in the Temple Mount (where only the Jewish High Priest was allowed) is unknown, you may be defiling the holiest site of Judaism unknowingly! Israelis complain about Muslim construction and excavation on and underneath the Temple Mount as an attempt to destroy Jewish heritage, while Muslims accuse Israeli excavations near the Temple Mount as an effort to Judaize the whole area. Tensions always prevail frequently in the Temple Mount area. One recent example to cite would be the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to the Temple Mount in September, 2000. His visit started the Second Intifada (Palestinian Uprising) which resulted in the loss of some 7000 lives. As I am uploading this text, today’s flash news in Yedioth pops out as “Group of tourists enters holy site in Jerusalem accompanied by police force. Some 150 Muslim worshippers gather around them, some hurling stones. Eighteen policemen, 17 worshippers lightly hurt; 11 people detained”.
Back to my visit to the Temple Mount; it’s my second trip after 17 months. Last time it was done in a hurry and I could not explore much. It should be noted that there are around 100 buildings or monuments inside the Temple Mount area. Almost all of them are Islamic today. My attempt is to take you through all these structures that are open to the public. I hope I have been fair enough to cover most of them. I can’t help you with the areas inside the ‘Dome of the Rock’ and the Al Aqsa Mosque. Apart from the ‘Dome’ and Al Aqsa, I would suggest you not to miss the foundation stones of Antonia Fortress and the views to the Golden Gate from inside the Temple Mount. For all those who wanted to see what is inside the Dome of the Rock, the Al Aqsa Mosque and Solomon's Stables;
here is a rare video link. Enjoy!
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3157331,00.html
Here is also a nice recent site for the Virtual Walking Tour of al-Haram al-Sharif (the Temple Mount)
http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200901/a.virtual.walking.tour.al-haram.al-sharif.htm
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