Arabic QUBBAT AS-SAKHRAH, also called MOSQUE
OF OMAR, shrine in Jerusalem that is the oldest extant Islamic monument.
The rock over which the shrine was built is sacred to both Muslims and
Jews. The Prophet Muhammad, founder of Islam, is traditionally believed
to have ascended into heaven from the site. In Jewish tradition, it is
here that Abraham, the progenitor and first patriarch of the Hebrew people,
is said to have prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac. The Dome of the Rock
was built between AD 685 and 691 by the caliph 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan,
not as a mosque for public worship but rather as a mashhad, a shrine for
pilgrims. It is virtually the first monumental building in Islamic history
and is of considerable aesthetic and architectural importance; it is rich
with mosaic, faience, and marble, much of which was added several centuries
after its completion. Basically octagonal, the Dome of the Rock is more
typically Roman or Byzantine than Islamic. A wooden dome -approximately
60 feet (18 m) in diameter and mounted on an elevated drum- rises above
a circle of 16 piers and columns. Surrounding this circle is an octagonal
arcade of 24 piers and columns. The outer walls repeat this octagon, each
of the eight sides being approximately 60 feet (18 m) wide and 36 feet
(11 m) high. Both the dome and the exterior walls contain many windows.
Western Wall - Jews Site in Jerusalem
Called WAILING WALL, in the Old City of Jerusalem,
a place of prayer and pilgrimage sacred to the Jewish people. It is the
only remains of the Second Temple of Jerusalem, held to be uniquely holy
by the ancient Jews and destroyed by the Romans in AD 70. The authenticity
of the Western Wall has been confirmed by tradition, history, and archaeological
research; the wall dates from about the 2nd century BC, though its upper
sections were added at a later date. Because the wall now forms part of
a larger wall that surrounds the Muslim Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque,
Jews and Arabs have long fought over its control or for the right of access.
As it is seen today, the Western Wall measures about 160 feet (50 m) long
and about 60 feet (20 m) high; the wall, however, extends much deeper into
the earth. Jewish devotions there date from the early Byzantine period
and reaffirm the rabbinic belief that "the divine Presence never departs
from the Western Wall." Jews lament the destruction of the Temple and pray
for its restoration. Such terms as Wailing Wall were coined by European
travelers who witnessed the mournful vigils of pious Jews before the relic
of the sacred Temple. Arab and Jewish sources both confirm that after the
Arab capture of Jerusalem in 638, Jews led the conquerors to the site of
the Holy Rock and Temple yard and helped clear away the debris. When the
State of Israel captured the Old City during the fighting of June 1967,
the Jews once more gained control over the historic site.
Holy Sepulchre - Christian Site in Jerusalem
The tomb in which Jesus was buried and the
name of the church built on the traditional site of his Crucifixion and
burial. According to the Bible, the tomb was close to the place of Crucifixion
(John 19:41-42), and so the church was planned to enclose the site of both
cross and tomb. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre lies in the northwest
quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. Constantine the Great first built
a church on the site. It was dedicated about AD 336, burned by the Persians
in 614, restored by Modestus (the abbot of the monastery of Theodosius,
616-626), destroyed by the caliph al-Hakim Bi-Amr Allah about 1009, and
restored by the Byzantine emperor Constantine Monomachus. In the 12th century
the crusaders carried out a general rebuilding of the church. Since that
time, frequent repair, restoration, and remodelling have been necessary.
The present church dates mainly from 1810. This site has been continuously
recognized since the 4th century as the place where Jesus died, was buried,
and rose from the dead. Whether it is the actual place, however, has been
hotly debated. It cannot be determined that Christians during the first
three centuries could or did preserve an authentic tradition as to where
these events occurred. Members of the Christian Church in Jerusalem fled
to Pella about AD 66, and Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 70. Wars, destruction,
and confusion during the following centuries possibly prevented preservation
of exact information. Another question involves the course of the second
north wall of ancient Jerusalem. Some archaeological remains on the east
and south sides of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre are widely interpreted
to mark the course of the second wall. If so, the site of the church lay
just outside the city wall in the time of Jesus, and this could be the
actual place of his Crucifixion and burial. No rival site is supported
by any real evidence. Various Christian groups, including the Greek, Roman,
Armenian, and Coptic churches, control parts of the present church and
conduct services regularly.
Al-Haram al-Ibrahimi - Islamic Site in Hebron
The Cave of Mach-pelah (Hebrew Me'arat
ha-Makhpela) is surmounted by a large mosque, al-Haram al-Ibrahimi al-Khalil
(The Sanctuary of Abraham, the Friend). After the Six-Day War (1967), the
tombs of the patriarchs were opened to all worshippers for the first time
in exactly 700 years, the original prohibition against non-Muslims having
been made by the Mamluk sultan Baybars in 1267. Both Muslim and Jewish
services are now held in the cave; the upper mosque remains the exclusive
property of the Muslims. In 1968 Orthodox settlers renewed Jewish presence
in the city; their presence was finally approved by the Israeli government
in 1970, and a new housing project for them was built in the early 1970s.
Many tourists and pilgrims visit the Cave of Mach-pelah and other sites
connected with the lives of the patriarchs, such as Abraham's Oak (Hebrew,
Eshel Avraham), just northwest of the city. Pop. (1984 est.) 75,000.
Church of Nativity - Christian Site in Bethlehem
The site of the Nativity of Jesus was identified
by St. Justin Martyr, a 2nd-century Christian apologist, as a manger in
"a cave close to the village"; the cave, now under the name of the Church
of the Nativity in the heart of the town, has been continuously venerated
by Christians since then. St. Helena (c. 248-c. 328), mother of the first
Christian Roman emperor (Constantine I), had a church built over the cave;
later destroyed, it was rebuilt in substantially its present form by Emperor
Justinian (reigned 527-565). The Church of the Nativity is thus one of
the oldest Christian churches extant. Frequent conflicts have arisen over
the jurisdiction of various faiths at the sacred site, often incited by
outside interests; thus, for example, the theft, in 1847, of the silver
star marking the exact traditional locus of the Nativity was an ostensible
factor in the international crisis over the Holy Places that ultimately
led to the Crimean War (1854-56). The church is now divided between the
Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Armenian Orthodox faiths.
Dome of the Rock - Islamic Site in Jerusalem 
