The most important historical and religious monuments in Jerusalem:

Al-Aqsa Mosque

One of the holiest Muslims sites, it was the first “qibla” (direction of prayer). God says of it in Surat Al-Isra: “Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al- Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the seeing.” (Quran 17:1)

Al-Aqsa Mosque is located in the noble city of Jerusalem in the land of occupied Palestine. Its courtyard contains several landmarks, the most important of them being the main mosque.  It also includes the Dome of the Rock Mosque, where Muhammad ascended to the heavens during the Night Journey.

In 1969, Al-Aqsa Mosque suffered a fire at the hands of a Jewish extremist named Michael Dennis Rohan, who set aflame the platform of Saladin. Al-Aqsa Mosque is currently vulnerable to a number of practices by the Israeli occupation government that will remove and destroy it, building in its place so-called Solomon’s Temple.  These excavation practices that occur under the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock are purportedly to search for the remains of Solomon’s Temple, which was claimed to be present and then demolished. The Al Aqsa Mosque compound has an area of ​​more than 144 dunums.

 

Dome of the Rock

The Dome of the Rock is the building appraised with the golden dome, and its location relating to the Al-Aqsa Mosque is that of the heart in the human body, in the middle and slightly to the left.  This dome is considered the dome of the mosque as a whole, and it is one of the oldest and greatest distinctive Islamic landmarks.

It is named after the noble of the Rock that lies inside the building, from which Prophet ascended to heaven, as the rock is the highest spot in the Al-Aqsa compound. The Dome of the Rock currently serves the women of the compound. The Rock is not manually suspended as some believe, and underneath it lies a small cave.

 

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre

This church is inside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. The church was built over Golgotha, or Calvary, the place where Christians believe lies the rock over which Christ was crucified.  It is also the site of Jesus’ burial, thus bearing the name “Holy Sepulchre.”

It is also called the “Church of the Resurrection,” in relation to the resurrection of Christ from the dead on the third day after his death on the cross, according to the Christian faith.

When the caliph Omar Bin Al-Khattab re-opened Jerusalem, he visited the church, cleaned it, and ordered the construction of a mosque adjacent to the church.  Making sure not to pray inside the church, so as not to lay any Muslim claim to it, he prayed beside it, and Omar’s mosque was built in that place.