Jerusalem: Dome of the Rock - interior view

http://lrc-tesuto.lrc.lsa.umich.edu/HJCSimg/316_Islam.JPG

Title

Jerusalem: Dome of the Rock - interior view

Description

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.

Location Modern Country

Israel

Location City

Jerusalem

Geolocation