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This distinctive, monument with its golden dome is the Dome of the Rock, which was built in Jerusalem by the Umayyad caliph ‘Abd al-Malik from 685 to 691 CE. It was probably meant to express the Muslims’ growing self-confidence and Islam’s competitiveness to local buildings of other religions as well as to Byzantium. Next to it sits the al-Aqsa mosque, built only shortly after the Dome on the spot believed to be the starting point of the Prophet Muhammad’s nocturnal journey to heaven (mi’raj).

 Al-Azhar Mosque

Name: Dome of the Rock

Material:
Dome: Mosaic, faience, marble (interior); Gold (exterior)
Outer Walls: Porcelain

Size:
Diameter: (dome) 20.2 m (66 ft 3.3 in)
Height: (dome) 20.48 m (67 ft 2.3 in)
Length: (outer walls) 18.28 m (60 ft)
Width: (outer walls) 10.97 m (36 ft)

Date: 685–691 CE

Place of Origin: Jerusalem, Israel

Location: Jerusalem, Israel

Source and Registration#:
Wikimedia Commons
(accessed February 18, 2010).
Creative Commons Copyright
Attribution: Work of Chad Rosenthal
License: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license (accessed April 30, 2010).

Wadad Kadi

Avalon Foundation Distinguished Service Professor of Islamic Studies, Emerita, Department of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations, University of Chicago