This is Islam's third holiest site, after Mecca and Medina. The site has the Al Aqsa mosque (with a silver gray domed roof, not pictured here), and the Dome of the Rock itself, with the gold roof.
They are built on the site of what used to be the Jewish Temple-- Solomon's temple, originally, and then the Second temple built by Herod the Great (destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD after the failed Jewish revolt). Hence Jews call it the Temple Mount. Orthodox Jews will not visit the site because it is the place where the inner sanctum of the holy of holies was located, accessible by Jewish law only to the high priest; today, being unable to locate exactly where that spot was, some Jews will not risk an accidental spiritual breach of that sacred space.
For Muslims, the rock inside the Dome marks the site where Muhammad ascended into heaven during his Night Journey, as detailed in the Koran, and where he will return when the day of judgment begins.
For Jews and Christians, the rock inside the Dome is the place where God led Abraham for the sacrifice of Isaac.
We visited the area twice, once on our own, and then with a group from Tantur. On the Tantur visit, we had a special Muslim guide who was able to bring us into both the Dome and the Al Aqsa mosque (a rare thing these days, so we were privileged to get in). We of course had to remove our shoes and the women wore head scarves. The interior photo is of the Dome, as is the exterior tile detail.
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