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| Temple Mount,
Part 1 |
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Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 1, p. 4b. |
Jerusalem from the
Mount of Olives
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From the Church of the Ascension the ground shelves down to the dry bed of the
Kedron and then rises steeply to the summit of Mount Moriah, on which is now
situated the Haram esh Sherif. The surface of the Haram enclosure is studded
with cypress and olive, and its sides are surrounded, in part, by the finest
mural masonry in the world, capable, even in its decay, of affecting men's minds
more strongly than any other building of the ancient world. At its southern end
is the Mosque el Aksa and a pile of buildings formerly used by the Knights
Templar. Nearly in the centre is a raised platform paved with stone, from the
centre of which rises the well-known "Dome of the Rock" (Kubbet es Sakhra) . . .
. Within this sacred enclosure stood the Temple of the Jews, but all traces of
it have long since disappeared, and its exact position has for years been one of
the most fiercely contested points in Jerusalem topography. (Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 1, pp. 4-6.) |
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Arches, Haram esh-Sherif |
Source:
Earthly Footsteps of the Man of Galilee, p. 195. |
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The Haram esh-Sherif, the "Noble
Sanctuary," is the pride and ornament of the
City of Jerusalem." The massive and lofty
walls that surround it, the broad, elevated
platform, encircled by graceful arches, its
pulpits and prayer-niches and cupolas; and the
beautiful Mosque of Omar, rising above all and
glistening in the sunbeams; the marble
fountains, groups of olive and cypress trees,
all together form a picture which is scarcely
surpassed in the world . . . .With no other
escort but our Mohammedan guide, we entered
the jealously guarded precincts of the Haram,
and were conducted down a gradual decline for
some distance over smooth rock, and then upon
the sward or green grass to the foot of a
flight of steps which led up to the lofty and
pointed arches which stood on the paved
platform of the mosque called el-Mawazin, or
"the Scales," because on the day of judgment
the scales are to be suspended there to weigh
the evil and the righteous. In the picture we
are looking toward the north, and beyond the
walls see the hills of Judea. (Source:
Earthly Footsteps of the Man of Galilee, p. 195.) |
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Source: Earthly Footsteps of the Man of Galilee, p. 260. |
Mount of Olives from
Temple Plateau |
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At one corner the solid masonry rises to a
height of one hundred and eighty feet, at
another to a height of one hundred and
thirty-eight feet, above the ground; and at
one point in the wall a great stone,
thirty-eight feet nine inches long, four feet
high, and ten feet deep, has been used at a
height of eighty-five feet from the surface.
Partially concealed as the walls are, here by
ninety-five feet, there by sixty feet of
rubbish, they still fill the traveller with
admiration, and they must, when fresh from the
builder's hands, have been the finest
specimens of mural masonry in the world . . . .
The Haram esh Sherif has a general elevation
of two thousand four hundred and nineteen feet
above the Mediterranean, and its surface is
almost level . . . .It has been formed by
cutting the rock away in some places, by
building supporting vaults in others, and by
filling in hollows with large stones and
rubbish. The dimensions are-north side, one
thousand and forty-two feet; east side, one
thousand five hundred and thirty feet; south
side, nine hundred and twenty-two feet; and
west side, one thousand six hundred and one
feet. The enclosure contains thirty-five
acres, and is nearly one mile in circuit.
(Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 1, pp.
38, 51.) |
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Pillar of Double Gateway Under the Mosque
el-Aksa |
Source:
Jerusalem, Bethany, and Bethlehem, p.
33. |
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At the place where the Saracenic city wall
joins, at right angles, the great wall of the
Haram [see picture above to the right of the
dome], is one of the most interesting gates of
the Temple area. The exterior is now to a
large extent covered with the city wall; but
through a small grated window one is able to
get a dim view of a long subterranean avenue,
leading up an inclined plane and flight of
steps to the Haram . . . .The gate is double,
forty-two feet wide, and evidently ancient. It
is divided in the centre by a massive
rectangular pier, with small modern columns
attached . . . .Within the gate is a hall,
sixty-three feet long, and the width of the
gate. In the centre is a huge monolithic
column, twenty-one feet high, and nearly seven
in diameter. The capital has a perpendicular
palm-leaf ornament . . . .The roof is
vaulted, of good workmanship, the flat arches
springing from the central monolith and piers,
and from pilasters at the sides . . . .The
passage ascends gradually, and at the distance
of about two hundred and sixty feet from the
gate, opens out on the Haram area, in front of
the Mosque el-Aksa. (Source:
Jerusalem, Bethany, and Bethlehem, pp. 31-32.) |
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See
More Temple Mount,
History and Traditions of the Dome of the Rock,
Interior of the Dome of the Rock,
Al Aqsa Mosque,
or
Antonia
Fortress |
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