Praised as modern Jerusalem's most beautiful building, the Dome of the Rock is a shrine for the religion of Islam. It is topped with a shimmering gold dome that is 78 feet across and rises 108 feet above the ground. The interior of the eight-sided monument is richly decorated with marble pillars and columns, ornamental wood, and mosaic tiles. Natural light flows in from stained-glass windows.
The Dome of the Rock, built between A.D. 685 and 691, was originally a shine Muslims making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. But the site is sacred to Jews as well as Muslims. Beneath the dome, surrounded by a proactive grille, lies the rock on which Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son, Isaac (according to Jewish beliefs). It was over this rock that Solomon built the Temple, about 1,650 years before the Muslim shrine was constructed. Both Muslims and Christians of the Middle Ages mistakenly thought that the Dome of the Rock was the Jewish Temple, which had stood on the same spot until the Romans destroyed it in A.D. 70.
Early in the seventh century, The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), who founded the Islamic religion, had a miraculous experience on this rock. One night the Angel Gabriel carried him up to heaven, where he saw how righteous people are rewarded with eternal life. As a result, Muslims call this rock the Stone of paradise and consider it the foundation of the world. They believe that a notch in the rock shows where The prophet Mohammed's (PBUH) foot stepped as he climbed toward heaven.
Did you know?
The Dome of the Rock is a shrine and a holy place, but it is not a mosque, which is a place of worship.
