Dome of the Rock 3

Dome of the Rock 3

View from the north looking south at the north side of the Dome of the Rock.  On the left (east) is the Dome of the Chain, and the small domed area on the left (west) is the Dome of the Prophet.


The Dome of the Rock was completed about A.D. 691 by the Moslem Umayyad Dynasty which was headquartered in Damascus.  The shrine (it is not a Mosque) was intended to portray the glories of Islam and to divert pilgrim traffic to Jerusalem - from Mecca and Medina.

Many believe that the Holy of Holies of both Solomon's and later Herod's Temple was located on top of the raised bedrock - which is now covered by the Dome.