From http://www.GreatBuildings.com/cgi-bin/gbi.cgi/Dome_of_the_Rock.html/cid_2250843.gbi

allahallah Completed in 691, the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, Israel, is neither a mosque nor a palace, but a monumental sanctuary, an architectural tribute to the triumph of Islam. Muslims believe that it houses the rock from which Muhammad ascended to Heaven. Erected on the traditional site of the Temple of Solomon on Mount Moriah, it rises from a huge, artificial platform that dominates the skyline of modern Jerusalem. The plan of the Dome of the Rock is a domed octagon. Some sixty feet across and seventy-feet high, its dominance reduces the octagon to function merely as a base. This dominance of the domed cupola will come to characterize the architecture of Islam and will identify it worldwide.

allahallahThe exterior of the building, originally a mosaic, has been restored as tilework. The vivid, colorful patterning wrapping around the walls of the structure is typical of Islamic ornamentation. The rich mosaic ornament of the interior has been preserved, and from it we can read something of what the exterior walls must have been like. Public gaze is given to the splendor of both the interior and exterior.



From http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/sacredplaces/images/domeofrockinta.jpg


allahallahFollow these links for additional images of the interior and exterior of the Dome of the Rock or click here to continue on your tour.