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View looking east, along the southern edge of the Foundation Stone. The rock slopes down to the right (south). If Ritmeyer's reconstructions are correct, see The Quest, much of this area was just south of the Holy of Holies and probably some of the rooms of the Temple were built over this portion of the rock.
Notice the glass on the right (south) side of the photo. Behind it is a marble wall. This is the area where steps descend into the cave that is in the rock—the "Well of Souls."
Partially visible in the lower portion of the image there is a wooden fence that surrounds and protects the rock.
The stone has many events associated with it in Jewish, Muslim, and Christian traditions: The binding of Isaac, the place of the Holy of Holies in the Solomonic and Herodian Temples; maybe a Roman Temple, the place from which Mohamed made his night journey to the "Distant Place," a Church Altar, etc.
The Dome of the Rock was completed about A.D. 691 by the Muslim Umayyad Dynasty that was headquartered in Damascus. The Dome structure was intended to portray the glories of Islam and to divert pilgrim traffic to Mecca and Medina to Jerusalem instead.
The photo is courtesy of David Padfield (www.Padfield.com) while the commentary is that of Carl Rasmussen.
