Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
widely-accepted Muslim belief,
on the day of the Last Judg-
ment, the scales used by God
to weigh the souls of human-
kind will be hung from these
arches on the Haram.
JERUSALEM AND ISLAM
The Dome of the Rock and neighbouring El-Aqsa Mosque
represent the first great religious complex in the history
of Islam. Although Muslims venerate many of the same
prophets as the Jews and Christians, notably Abraham
(Ibrahim to the Muslims), Jerusalem itself is never men-
tioned in the Quran. The choice of this site was more likely
a political issue. In locating his mosque on the site of the
Temple, the caliph Abd el-Malik meant to reinforce the
idea that the new religion of Islam, and its worldly
empire, was the successor and continuation of those
of the Jews and the Christians. It was only later that
Jerusalem came to be tied into Islamic tradition
through the story of the Night Journey
(see
y
p27)
. In this, Muhammad visits
el-masjid el-
aqsa
, which means literally “the most distant
mosque”, and this name was retroactively
applied to the whole Haram esh-
Sharif before later being restric-
ted to the mosque only.
DOME OF THE CHAIN
Beside the dome of the
Rock, the Haram has many
other, smaller domes. The
most impressive is the
Dome of the Chain,
immediately to the
east of the Dome of
the Rock. It is a simple
structure of a domed
roof supported on 17
columns. It originally
had 20 columns but was
remodelled to its current
form by the Mameluke emir
Baybars in the 13th century.
The interior tiling is splendid
(see p69)
. Some mystery
exists over the purpose of the
dome, but it is likely that it
was a treasury. Its name
derives from the legend that a
chain once hung from the
roof, and whoever told a lie
while holding it would be
struck dead by lightning.
Angel with Muhammad's
robe on the Night Journey
coloured stone, stalactite
carvings above the doorway
and, on the benches on either
side, intricate, interlocking
stones known as “joggling”.
Adjoining the Ashrafiyya to
the north, close to the Sabil of
Qaitbey, is another
madrasa
,
the
Uthmaniyya
. Its upper
section has beautiful wheel-
shaped decorations formed by
inlays of yellow and red stone.
Along the northern edge of
the Haram are two more, the
triple-domed
Isardiyya
and
adjacent
Malekiyya
. Both
date from the 14th century.
West of these two, in the
corner, is the
Omariyya
college, which is held
to contain the First
Station of the Cross, but
can only be entered
from the Via Dolorosa
(see pp30-31)
.
GOLDEN GATE
Also known as the Gate of
Mercy (Bab el-Rahma), the
Golden Gate was one of the
original Herodian city gates.
According to Jewish tradition,
the Messiah will enter
Jerusalem through this gate,
which is said to be the reason
why the Muslims walled it up
in the 7th century. The
existing structure dates
to the Omayyad
period and is best
viewed from
outside the
city walls.
THE MADRASAS
Most of the buildings
fringing the Haram are
madrasas
- Islamic colleges.
s
Of these, the
Ashrafiyya
on
the western side of the
Haram, built in 1482 by
Sultan Qaitbey, is a
masterpiece of Islamic
architecture. It has an
especially ornate door-
way exhibiting all the
best elements of
Mameluke design,
including bands
of different
The domed fountain, the Sabil of Qaitbey, with part of the Ashrafiyya Madrasa in the background
