The Dome of the Rock

I thought it was important to blog about the Dome of the Rock- I was lucky enough to go inside because I’m Muslim. I wasn’t asked any questions at the entrance at all, and was greeted by an old couple who couldn’t speak English. They offered to take us on a tour of the first floor and the actual rock (on the first floor, a dimly lit staircase leads down into a large crevasse carved into the structure, containing only a stack of holy books and room to pray). A few things I picked up from their advanced Arabic (apologies if I’ve mistranslated anything!):

Architecture:

- The patterns on the walls and columns are mainly from Byzantine times and the gems on the chandeliers are from different parts of the Arab world

- The interior structure is constantly under reconstruction because (1) of previous destructive earthquakes and (2) it is incredibly old!

- Across the interior, you’ll find recurring 3-arch structures in different sizes and colours. They are representative of the 3 places Prophet Mohammed made journeys to before ascending to heaven (Mecca, another Mosque, and Al Aqsa)

- The predominantly green patterns on the outside and the walls near the rock are a reflection of Prophet Mohammed’s personality: he favoured certain patterns over others (exhibited in his mosque in Medina) and his favourite colour was green.

- The patterns and colours on the ceiling are distinctly different from that of the rest of the interior. This is because the King of Egypt (in the early 18th or 19th century? Unclear) funded the repainting of the ceiling and had a lot of jurisdiction over the final product.

The most prominent feature of the interior is the mixture of patterns and colours. Fortunately, the building was completely empty (except for one other man who was praying) so we were able to explore it fully. The building is fully carpeted, with very high arched and ridged ceilings/arches, and multiple interior balconies; it particularly reminded me of the incredible Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.

Significance:

- Prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven from the rock inside

- The Dome of the Rock, during the Crusade, was a citadel and then a church

- It still contains prayer mats, Qurans and the direction of the Qibla (compass showing Mecca) because visiting Muslims often pray when they enter

- It faces another incredibly holy site- the Al Aqsa Mosque, and is an important landmark for multiple religions across Jerusalem and Israel.

They also let me take a few pictures of the interior, and Ali was able to take pictures inside the rock.