Solomon's Stables

About Solomon's Stables

Underground vaulted space within the Temple Mount of Jerusalem, currently as a Muslim prayer hall

The Marwani Prayer Hall (al-Musalla al-Marwani) is a vast underground vaulted hall in the south-eastern corner of the Al-Aqsa compound in Al-Quds, about 12.5 metres below the level of the courtyards. Its southern and eastern walls are the walls of Al-Aqsa itself, which here are also the walls of the Old City. Before its renovation it was known as al-Masjid al-Qadim, the Old Mosque, and historically also by the Crusader-era name Solomon's Stables. The hall covers roughly 500 square metres and is carried on twelve rows of stone piers linked by arches that give the space a strong architectural rhythm. The present structure is thought to date from the Umayyad period, rebuilt by the Fatimids after the earthquake of 1033. It was restored in the 1990s and reopened as a prayer hall that receives thousands of worshippers on Fridays and during Ramadan. It is one of the largest roofed spaces in the compound, and a visit completes the picture of Al-Aqsa as a single sanctuary that includes the Qibli hall, the Dome of the Rock, and what lies beneath the courtyards as well as above them.

Where:

Jerusalem, Palestine