This scale model of Second Temple Jerusalem resides at the Israel Museum in modern Jerusalem. This particular photograph is looking west and shows a reconstruction of the Second Temple itself (after King Herod's renovations). The Holy of Holies would have been at the far west of the main Temple building, behind the large doorway. The open-air altar stood in the inner court, between the large gate (known as the Gate of Nikanor) and the steps that are visible at the lower center of the photo. The walls in the immediate foreground (at the bottom of the photo) would have separated the Court of the Gentiles (where anybody was allowed) from the Court of the Women (where only Jews were allowed).
Jerusalem: Model of the Antonia Fortress
This scale model of Second Temple Jerusalem resides at the Israel Museum in modern Jerusalem. This particular photograph is looking from north to south at the Antonia Fortress, which sat at the north edge of the Temple Mount complex (the Temple building of which can be seen behind it). The Antonia Fortress was a military barracks that was built by King Herod and was used to garrison Roman troops when Judaea was ruled by a Roman procurator.
Jerusalem: The Western Wall/Wailing Wall
This photograph shows the proximity of the Western Wall (sometimes called the Wailing Wall) to the Dome of the Rock. The Western Wall, at the center of the photograph, is the western wall of the Temple Mount that was built by Herod the Great and on top of which stood the Jewish Temple prior to 70 CE. It is often considered to be one of the holiest sites in Judaism. Above and to the left is the Dome of the Rock, which stands over a section of bedrock that Muslims believe is that last place that the Prophet Muhammad stood before embarking on his Night Journey. It is usually considered to be the third holiest site in Islam. The gray dome to the right is the Al Aqsa Mosque, which sits at the southern end of the Temple Mount. In the background is the Mount of Olives.
Jerusalem: Dome of the Rock - interior view
This photograph of the interior of the Dome of the Rock shows the symmetry of the architectural plan and the lavish geometric decoration adorning the walls and arches. Beneath the dome, at the center of the structure (just on the other side of the brown wooden barrier) is the bedrock called the Sakhra. In Islamic tradition and belief, this is the last place that the Prophet Muhammad touched the earth before he was taken on his Night Journey. Much of the artistry of the 7th-century Byzantine craftsmen is preserved here from the original building period, with major supplements and restorations by the Crusaders in the 12th century and Suleiman the Magnificent in the 16th century. For centuries the Dome of the Rock was misnamed the Mosque of Omar. Omar did erect a simple wooden mosque at the site, but that was replaced by his successor Caliph Abd al-Malik, who commissioned the present octagonal shrine, which was begun in 687 CE and completed in 691 CE.
This is a photograph of the interior of the dome that sits on the Dome of the Rock. It was planned as a deliberate imitation of the vault over the Anastasis of the Holy Sepulchre; even the size of this hemisphere is within a few feet of the Sepulchre's dome. It was the caliph's intention to raise a building that would be in the architectural tradition established by Constantine but would far outshine its Christian predecessor.
Jerusalem: Dome of the Rock and the Dome of the Spirits
This photograph, taken from the top of the Temple Mount platform, shows the Dome of the Rock in the background and the Dome of the Spirits in the foreground. The Dome of the Spirits is one of several lesser shrines that dot the top of the Temple Mount platform. According to Muslim accounts this small cupola marks the place where Mohammad conversed with the earlier Hebrew and Christian prophets. It is commonly called the Dome of the Spirits because this is also where Mohammad will summon the souls of the faithful on Judgment Day. There is an intriguing alternative interpretation of this smaller dome. It has another name: Dome of the Tablets, and it sits due west of the Golden Gate (the eastern entrance into the Second Temple's courts). This name and location has led some to suggest that it memorializes the site of the Holy of Holies in the Second Temple.
This photograph of the Dome of the Rock shows its octagonal structure and its golden dome. Beneath the dome, at the center of the structure is the bedrock called the Sakhra. For centuries it was misnamed the Mosque of Omar. Omar did erect a simple wooden mosque at the site, but that was replaced by his successor Caliph Abd al-Malik, who commissioned the present octagonal shrine, which was begun in 687 CE and completed in 691 CE.
Jerusalem: Temple Mount, Dome of the Rock, and Al Aqsa Mosque
This photograph of the Temple Mount shows the relationship of the Dome of the Rock (the Kubbat as-Sakhra) to the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Together they make up the Haram esh-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary), the Islamic sanctuary created in the days of the Umayyad Dynasty (in the 7th century CE).
Jerusalem: Temple Mount - phases of the Sakhra
This 3-dimensional reconstruction of the Temple Mount shows the various stages of construction, as well as the piece of bedrock (the Sakhra) that sits at the center of the Dome of the Rock (the Kubbat as Sakhra).
This close-up of the Dome of the Rock shows the beauty and riches of its present decoration. It was commissioned by Abd al-Malik in 687 CE and completed in 691 CE. Suleiman the Magnificent carried out extensive restorations of the building in the 16th century, but the gold sheathing had not survived the Middle Ages. An unattractive lead dome crowned the shrine until modern restorations began in 1958, when the building received its present golden-colored roof of bronze-aluminum alloy.
This photograph shows the Dome of the Rock (Arabic: "Kubbat as Sakhra") looking east. For centuries it was misnamed the Mosque of Omar. Omar did erect a simple wooden mosque at the site, but that was replaced by his successor Caliph Abd al-Malik, who commissioned the present octagonal shrine, which was begun in 687 CE and completed in 691 CE. In the background, to the right, you can see the Mount of Olives with its ancient Jewish cemetery on the slopes. The distant bell tower is from the Russian Monastery of the Ascension and the onion-shaped domes just to the left of the Dome of the Rock belong to the Russian Church of St. Mary Magdalene, built in the 19th century. In the forefront are houses of the Old City of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem: Temple Mount and Dome of the Rock
This aerial view of the Temple Mount, which is looking west, shows not just the massive Temple Mount complex with its retaining walls and the Dome of the Rock, but also the Al Aqsa Mosque (to the left, at the south end of the Temple Mount complex). Note the flat surface of huge stone slabs that makes up the Temple Mount, which was an artificial creation of King Herod and his engineers. Beyond the Temple Mount is the Old City of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem: Dome of the Rock - fish-eye view of the interior
This fish-eye photograph was taken inside the Dome of the Rock. Above you can see the intricate artistic styling that decorates the underside of the dome; below you can see the section of bedrock around which the building was built. Muslims believe that this rock was the place from which the Prophet Muhammad left on his Night Journey.
The raking light in this aerial view of the Old City of Jerusalem, looking east toward the Judaean Desert, clearly shows the Old City walls, which were built according to the orders of Suleiman the Magnificent in the first half of the 16th century CE. In the distance is the Judaean Desert. Beyond the walls of the Old City, is the Mount of Olives and its Jewish cemetery (to the right of the tower on the ridge, flowing down the hillside toward the southeastern corner of the Temple Mount). The Hinnom Valley is just out of sight at the bottom of the picture. Perhaps most interesting in this picture is the Tyropoeon Valley, which can be seen in the shadow that runs north/south (left/right in the picture) through the middle of the Old City, ending on this side of the Temple Mount.
Jerusalem in the time of the First Crusade: Map
This map of Jerusalem during time of the Crusades highlights the 3 religious foci in the city: the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (the yellow circle) and the two additional crusader structures that were erected on Temple Mount: the crusaders converted the Dome of the Rock into the Templum Domini and the Al Aqsa Mosque into the Templum Salmonis.
This aerial view of the Temple Mount, which is looking west, shows not just the massive Temple Mount complex and the Dome of the Rock, but also the Al Aqsa Mosque (to the left, at the south end of the Temple Mount complex) and the eastern wall of the Temple Mount with the sealed Golden Gate (known also as the Mercy Gate and the Beautiful gate). The gate was sealed in the Ottoman period. Note the tower ('minaret' in Arabic) at the top right (northwest) corner of the Temple Mount compound. It belongs to a 13th century mosque called the Ghawanima. The rectangular building to its right (north) with the white roof is a modern Arab school called Omaria. The mosque, the minaret and the Omaria all sit of the ruins and foundation of the Roman-period Antonia fortress.
In the background of this aerial photograph of the Old City of Jerusalem we see the hills of the Judaean desert, as well as Transjordan in the distance. In the near distance, just beyond the city, is the Mount of Olives and Mt. Scopus. In the center of the photograph is the current Old City with its Ottoman walls. The yellow square designates the Christian Quarter with the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at its center (that is what the arrow is pointing to). The Red oval is around the Temple Mount complex, at the center of which is the Dome of the Rock.
This aerial photograph of the Temple Mount compound, taken from the northeast, shows the large platform at its center, on which sits the Dome of the Rock. To the left of the Dome is the Al Aqsa Mosque, and in the close foreground (at the bottom of the photo) is the eastern wall of Temple Mount with the sealed Golden Gate (known also as the Mercy Gate and the Beautiful gate). The gate was sealed in the Ottoman period. In the background is the Old City of Jerusalem and even further in the background are the high rises of the modern city.
This photograph shows a vertical seam in the eastern wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The 100 foot-wide southernmost stretch of the wall (the left half in the photo) is clearly Herodian construction and indicative of the King Herod's additions to the Temple Mount.
In this photograph the Dome of the Rock is visible in the upper left and the dome of the Al-Aqsa Mosque is visible in the upper right. Below them, Robinson's Arch is visible, springing out of the Western Wall (to the left). The tower rising up at the center of the photo is a minaret (a tower used by the announcer of Muslim prayers), built by the Mamluks in the 14th century for the Fachariya ('women's') Mosque on the Temple Mount. In this photograph, the lighter brown color is indicative of earlier remains that have recently been excavated.
In this photograph of the Old City of Jerusalem after a winter snow, the Temple Mount and Dome of the Rock are visible in the distance (to the east), as is the Mount of Olives in the background and the hills of the Judaean desert to the far right. The grey dome at the bottom of the photograph is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
This photograph was taken underneath the Temple Mount, in the area known as Solomon's Stables (at the southern end of the Temple Mount, underneath the current Al Aqsa Mosque). Rather than being stables, they are cavernous halls that were built during King Herod's expansion of the Temple Mount. The arches supported flat paving stones on the Temple Mount's surface, thus allowing Herod to level and flatten the elevated surface of the Temple Mount compound. The monumental steps on the southern side of the Temple Mount led through the Hulda Gates into this area before reaching the top of the Temple Mount.
This aerial photograph shows the southern part of the Temple Mount and its massive wall. In the foreground of this photograph is the spine of the hill that was the location of the City of David in the First Temple period. To the top right is the building of the Al-Aqsa mosque (its grey dome is just cut off), and to its left, the modern building with the arched windows is Yeshivat Esh ha-Torah (a Jewish orthodox learning center).
Jerusalem: Herod's enlarged Temple Mount
This aerial photograph of the modern Temple Mount, looking toward the northeast (with the Dome of the Rock roughly in its center and the gray dome of the Al-Aqsa Mosque at its southern end), one can see just how large and well-built King Herod's expansion of the Jewish Temple complex was. The resulting complex was 36 acres in size and the southern extents soared impressively above the surrounding landscape. The southeastern corner is 130 feet above bedrock and more than twice that height above the Kidron Valley floor. It is truly one of the great architectural feats of the Hellenistic or Roman periods. In the center background you can see the water tower and buildings of the Hebrew University campus on Mount Scopus. Further on the horizon are the hills of the Central Hill.
Jerusalem: Robinson's Arch (reconstruction)
In this drawing, the yellow pieces are those that have been found in archaeological excavations and the rest are an architect's reconstruction of how the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount probably looked in the Second Temple period: a monumental stairway led to the southern part of the Temple Mount. The yellow portion attached to the wall of the Temple Mount is known by its name 'Robinson's arch' (after the 19th century archaeologist Edward Robinson who found it).
This photograph shows the 'springer' for Robinson's Arch. In 1838, Edward Robinson noticed the strange, curved stones jutting out of the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount (to the upper left of center in this photograph). He realized that these stones were the 'springers' (i.e., the foundation, or the beginning) of an arch that probably supported a walkway that connected to the top of the Temple Mount on one side and to a stairway on the other. Later excavators found archaeological evidence for the stairwell, thus confirming Robinson's theory. The grey dome at the top of the picture belongs to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which sits inside the Temple Mount compound.
This photograph shows the detail of extra-long blocks that King Herod's engineers used to bind the existing exterior walls of the Temple Mount compound to the southern addition that he was building. Some of these blocks measure 39 feet long and weigh more than 100 tons.
Jerusalem: Broad Stairs at the Temple Mount
This monumental staircase, located to the south of the Temple Mount compound (the wall of which is seen in the background) is one of two that led up to the Double and Triple Huldah Gates and into the Temple Mount. They were built as part of King Herod the Great's monumental renovation project. This particular staircase is 200 feet across and allowed access to the Temple Mount platform from the Lower City (know today as the City of David) and other parts of the southern city of Jerusalem. They were probably in use until after the Crusades.
This plan shows what Jerusalem looked like after the Roman emperor Hadrian (117-138 CE) ordered the establishment of a colony named Aelia Capitolina in 130-132 CE. Some scholars believe that a temple to Jupiter was erected on the site where the Jewish temple had been, which is what this map shows. The camp of the Tenth Roman Legion occupied the southwestern corner of the city.
Jerusalem: "Place of the Trumpeting" inscription
This stone, with an inscription in Hebrew that reads, 'To the place of trumpeting to an(nounce)…,' was found in excavations at the base of the southwest corner of the Temple Mount (where many things were found that had been thrown off of the Temple Mount by Roman soldiers that destroyed it in 70 CE). It likely originally marked the spot (or gave directions to the spot) where a priest would have blown the trumpet that announced the beginning and end of the Sabbath.
These three doorways, which were blocked up after the Crusader period, led from the monumental steps on the south side of the Temple Mount into the Temple Mount and the area called Solomon's Stables. They were built into the base of the Temple Mount during King Herod's massive renovation project and allowed access to the Temple Mount from the Lower City (known today as the City of David) and other areas to the south.
This scale model of Second Temple Jerusalem resides at the Israel Museum in modern Jerusalem. This particular photograph is looking from north to south at the Antonia Fortress, which sat at the north edge of the Temple Mount complex (the Temple building of which can be seen behind it). The Antonia Fortress was a military barracks that was built by King Herod the Great and was used to garrison Roman troops when Judaea was ruled by a Roman procurator.
This plan shows what Jerusalem looked like in the Byzantine period. The Temple stood in ruins, as did the short-lived Temple of Jupiter that some scholars believe was erected in its place. Multiple churches were built during and after the reign of the Emperor Constantine (306-337 CE), the largest and most notable being the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (just to the left of the center) and the Nea Church (at the bottom). There were two cardos (main streets) that ran through the city from north to south, the eastern (left-most) of which was only discovered in 2006.
Jerusalem in the Second Temple period: Map
This plan shows what Jerusalem looked like in the late Second Temple period, prior to the Jewish revolt of 66-70 CE. The Jewish Temple occupied the Temple Mount and the upper-classes lived in the Upper City (known today as Mt. Zion), across the Tyropoeon Valley from the Temple Mount, near Herod's Palace. The city walls encompassed all that had been the City of David, as well as most of what is the modern Old City.
This scale model of Second Temple Jerusalem resides at the Israel Museum in modern Jerusalem. This particular photograph is looking west and shows a reconstruction of the Second Temple itself (after King Herod the Great's renovations). The Holy of Holies would have been at the far west of the main Temple building, behind the large doorway. The open-air altar stood in the inner court, between the large entrance door and the steps that are visible at the lower center of the photo. The walls in the immediate foreground (at the bottom of the photo) would have separated the Court of the Gentiles (where anybody was allowed) from the Court of the Women (where only Jews were allowed, and women could not go beyond).
Jerusalem: The Temple Mount - growth in the Hasmonaean and Herodian periods
This slide shows the ways and degrees in which the Temple Mount in Jerusalem was expanded in the Hasmonaean (blue area) and Herodian periods (purple area).
Jerusalem: Temple Mount - Greek inscription
This fragment of a Greek inscription inscribed in stone is one of several large stone notices that were erected around the Temple precinct entrances in the Second Temple Period. A complete version of the same text was found in the 19th century, and it is a 'keep out' sign that warns Gentiles (i.e., non-Jews) that they may not proceed beyond the entrance point at the risk of death.
This aerial photograph of Jerusalem, looking north, shows the hilly character of the area. The Old City, including the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, can be seen in the center of the picture, and the skyscrapers of the New City are in the background. In the middle of the picture a spur of a hill descends from the Old City toward the intersection of the shadows that are created by the hill on which the Old City sits. The Jehoshaphat Valley sits in the shadow that curves around the Old City to the right, while the Hinnom Valley curves around to the left side of the Old City (the valley itself is not clearly visible because of the other hill in the foreground). These two valleys intersect at the bottom of the spurand become the Kidron Valley, which then runs south all the way to the Dead Sea. The City of David sits on the spur itself, between the Jehoshaphat and Hinnom valleys and below the Old City. To the right of the Jehoshaphat Valley is the Mount of Olives with village of Siloam on its slopes. At the top right of the photo you can see the water tower of the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus.
This aerial photograph shows the City of David and the Temple Mount above it. Notice the ridge upon which the City of David was built (to the right of the road running from the upper center to the bottom of the photograph). The place of the Temple Mount was outside of the City of David until the time of Solomon. As the highest point in the area it became the location for David's 'high place' altar and Solomon's temple.
This photograph of the Temple Mount was taken from its southeast corner (i.e., it is looking northwest). The Temple Mount is visible in the center of the photograph, as is the Al Aqsa Mosque (on the left) and both the Old City and New City of Jerusalem (in the background). The ruins at the bottom left of the photograph are archaeological remains from the Crusader period.
In this view of the Temple Mount, looking west, one can clearly see the Dome of the Chain (between the five arches and the Dome of the Rock), and the Al Aqsa Mosque (the large building complex on the left). The Dome of the Chain is one of the oldest structures on top of the Temple Mount and was used as a prayer house.
This topographical map of Jerusalem shows the present Old City of Jerusalem in dark blue (the walls of which were built by the Ottoman Turks in the 16th century CE) and the Temple Mount in the southeastern corner of the Old City. The City of David is outlined in light blue, at the south (and lower) end of the Hill of Ophel. During Solomon's reign the city was expanded northward (up the hill), and the Temple was built at the highest point on the hill (the red square within Solomon's city).
This photograph of the Old City of Jerusalem shows the Temple Mount and Dome of the Rock in the background and the Western Wall Plaza in the center of the picture. The Western Wall (also called the Wailing Wall) is the western side of the Temple Mount. Because the Temple Mount complex is sacred to Muslims, and religious Jews do not want to inadvertently walk on the space where the (Jewish) Holy of Holies was located in the Second Temple period, the Western Wall Plaza became Judaism's most holy site and place of prayer.
In this photograph of the Old City of Jerusalem after a winter snow, the Temple Mount and Dome of the Rock are visible in the distance (to the east), as is the Mount of Olives in the background. The grey dome at the bottom of the photograph is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
This aerial view of the Temple Mount, looking west, shows not just the massive Temple Mount complex and the Dome of the Rock, but also the Al Aqsa Mosque, to the left (this is the southern end of the Temple Mount complex). The Old City wall is visible at the bottom of the photograph. Note the flat enormous stone slabs that make up the Temple Mount platform. These were hewn by King Herod the Great and his engineers.
This view, looking east toward the Mt. of Olives, shows the modern Seven Arches Hotel on its summit and the Jewish cemetery that has been built on its western slope. At the base of the Mt. of Olives is the steep Kidron Valley, which cuts dramatically between the Temple Mount (and the Old City to the west) and the Mt. of Olives (to the east).