Dome of the Rock

This morning I woke up at the very unholy hour of 6:30 to visit the Dome of the Rock, the third holiest Muslim site in the world. I was a little tired because I had only six hours of sleep (I was working on my History paper, which is due on Thursday. I write lab reports. I write literature essays. I write long, rambling posts on my blog. But I don't write History papers), so two big, strong cups of coffee helped me wake up a little.

The reason why we had to go so early was because the Temple Mount was open to non-Muslims between 7 and 9 am. Unfortunately, we couldn't even go into the Dome or Al Asqa Mosque because they are not open to people of other religions. I would have very much liked to see the rock where, according to Muslim faith, Mohammed ascended to heaven. Apparently there are even imprints on the rock that are from his feet. Plus, I've seen a couple pictures of the interior, and it is absolutely gorgeous. But we had to make due with appreciating it from the outside. Which wasn't too shabby either.

Of course there is the beautiful gold dome, which is one of the most recognizable landmarks of the world. But the other parts of the building, including the marble slabs and intricate blue stained tiles, are also gorgeous. The Temple Mount atmosphere was so quiet, which is a stark contrast from the Western Wall, which is hectic at the best of times. I really enjoyed it, and will post up the obscene number of pictures that Samantha took in a couple days. Unfortunately, I can't post one of my favourite pictures that I took with my archaic film camera, which was horse dung right by the Dung Gate of the Old City. Hehehe, I love it.