al-’Umari (Mosque of Omar), are not serves as the women’s mosque and tangible anymore. the eastern one as the Islamic Museum. The present shape of the sanctuary is In 1187, the Ayyubid Sultan Saladin WHERE TO GO? the result of various modifications and restored al-Aqsa’s Islamic identity re-buildings in different periods of time. and consecrated it as a major spiritual The new mosque was initiated in 705 center. Saladin installed a beautiful by the Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik minbar (pulpit from which Friday The Aqsa Mosque and completed in 715 under the reign sermons are held) made of ivory and of his son and successor, Caliph Walid. wood. Unfortunately, it was burnt in Courtesy of VisitPalestine.ps It had fifteen arcades, from which only 1969 and its remains are now stored the ones on the have in the Islamic Museum. survived a number of earthquakes and The al-Aqsa Mosque (the Farthest Mosque) is a rectangular (50 m x 80 m) edifice The present al-Aqsa can be entered reconstructions. constructed within the compound of the Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary) through nine doors: seven of them located within the walls of the of . According to Muslim belief, The two earthquakes of 748 and located in the northern wall, one in the Prophet Muhammad traveled from the Sacred Mosque in Mecca to al-Aqsa during 1033 struck the building and partially wall in the west, and another one in the his Night Journey. This makes the mosque the third most sacred place in Islam, destroyed it. In 1033, the mosque was east. In front of the northern wall stands after Mecca and Medina. reconstructed according to its original a colonnade composed of seven slabs design by the Fatimid Caliph al-Dhaher. of stone, each covered by a decussate The establishment of the sanctuary is associated with the Caliph ‘Umar bin Also during that time, the space above vault. The colonnade opens to the al-Khattab (634 - 44 AD) who erected a mihrab (prayer niche) and the arcade in the central nave and the plaza of the Haram al-Sharif through a simple mosque on the same place where the present mosque dome of the mosque were decorated a large arch. stands. The remains of the original building, known as the Masjid with mosaics identical to the Umayyad While there are seven open gates mosaics that can be seen in the Dome leading up to the plaza of the Haram of the Rock. al-Sharif, non-Muslim visitors can enter After 1099, Crusaders turned al-Aqsa it only through the Bab al-Maghariba into a church - while the Dome of the (Moors’ Gate), but they can exit by any Rock was named Templum Domini one of them. The opening hours for (Temple of God) and also became tourists are usually 7:30-11:00 am and a church, under the custody of the 1:30-2:30 pm, except on Fridays and on Augustinian Order - and later on used religious holidays, but these times can it as a royal residence (until 1128). In be subject to change. Modest dress that era, the Templars added vaulted is required. The interior of the al-Aqsa western and eastern annexes to the Mosque and of the building. Currently, the western annex can be accessed only by Muslims.

Al Aqsa Mosque. Photo Courtesy of VisitPalestine.ps. 76 77