Dome of the Rock

About Dome of the Rock

Islamic building in Al-Aqsa, Jerusalem

The Dome of the Rock (Qubbat al-Sakhra) is part of the Al-Aqsa compound in Al-Quds and the world's oldest surviving work of Islamic architecture, still keeping its original form and decoration. It rises on a raised platform in the middle of the sanctuary, opposite the Qibli prayer hall, and is recognisable from afar by its golden dome and octagonal walls clad in blue tiles and Quranic calligraphy. The Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan built it between 685 and 691 CE, with Raja ibn Haywa and Yazid ibn Salam overseeing the work. The building is an octagon with four doors; inside, a second ring of piers and columns surrounds the Noble Rock at the centre, from which, in Islamic tradition, the Prophet Muhammad ascended to the heavens on the Night Journey (al-Isra wal-Mi'raj). The rock stands about a metre and a half above the floor, under a dome roughly 20 metres across and 35 metres high topped by a crescent; its gold sheathing dates from a 1993 restoration funded by King Hussein of Jordan. The interior carries the earliest surviving inscriptions proclaiming Islam and naming the Prophet. Visitors should understand that the Dome of the Rock is a shrine and prayer hall, not a separate mosque: it belongs to Al-Aqsa, which comprises everything within the compound walls, and prayer here carries the same merit as prayer elsewhere in Al-Aqsa. Its plan and mosaics drew on the Byzantine buildings of the region, and its form in turn influenced later European churches; it is widely regarded as a masterpiece of balance between architecture and ornament.

Where:

Jerusalem, Palestine