Temple Mount (Jerusalem): photos and reviews on tourists.

What is included in the plan for an ordinary sightseeing tour of Jerusalem (Israel)? The Temple Mount, the Wailing Wall, the Garden of Gethsemane, the road to Calvary ... Let's stop at the first landmark. Tourists who have visited Jerusalem, do not cease to be surprised that some places in the Old City are sacred for three world religions - Christianity, Judaism and Islam. The Temple Mount is no exception. We can say that Christians honor the Old Testament, and Muslims consider Jesus Christ as the prophet Isa. But here is another story. The mountain, called the Temple, if you believe the Oral Torah, is the basis of the whole universe. This is a cornerstone from which God began to create the earth and the sky. Is it worth to go to such a place? "Of course!" - assure the tourists. Even if you are not a supporter of any of the three religions. At least, you will have unforgettable impressions and colorful photos.

Judean shrine

In ancient times, the Temple Mount was called Moria, which means "the Lord sees." In addition to the fact that the creation of the world began with it, the Jews believe that it was here that God created Adam. After the expulsion of people from heaven, Cain and Abel were sacrificed to the Most High on the first altar on the Temple Mount. And after the Flood the righteous Noah also stopped here, not Ararat. On the Temple Mount, he built a new altar. But most of all this attraction is known for the fact that here Abraham for the love of God was ready to sacrifice his son Isaac. Therefore, the name was given to Mount Moriah, because Yahweh, seeing the prophet's thoughts, sent an angel who stopped his hand with a knife brought. Tourists tell tourists about all this, and from these stories the blood grows cold in veins, even among unbelievers. After all, it is, after all, "touching the sakrum."

The First Temple

And on this site, King David saw an angel with a sword and realized that the plague of the city that struck the people of Jerusalem is an expression of the wrath of the Lord. He brought rich sacrifices to God, after which the epidemic stopped. And the son of David - Wise Solomon, built the first Jerusalem temple on the top of the mountain at the end of the tenth century BC. Thirty thousand Israelis and five more captive Phoenicians labored on the construction. After the House of the Lord was consecrated, it was filled with a cloud of sheep - evidence of the presence of God. Since then, Moriah has received a different name - the Temple Mount. Jerusalem did not know much more sacred things, because there was the Ark of the Covenant, that is, the chest with the stone tablets that God handed to Moses. But this structure is no longer seen by tourists, since in 587 BC. E. It was destroyed by the Babylonians.

The Second Temple

It was erected after liberation from the Babylonians in 536 BC. E. The temple became a symbol of the unity of the Jewish people, so its decoration and expansion did not spare any forces or means. King Herod is the same! - expanded the shrine, built around it powerful walls that towered thirty meters above the streets of the city. Temple Mount became impregnable at that time a stronghold. And then the tourists of the Christian faith realize that they are standing in the very place where the disciples of Jesus told their teacher: "Look at these great buildings, how they are decorated!" To which the Son of Man answered: "There will come days when not Remains here a stone in stone. " Christ turned out to be inaccurate: from the second temple still something is preserved. It is the Wailing Wall, the former western facade of the building.

Muslim shrine

In 691, the Arab conquerors built two mosques on the Temple Mount. The first - Kubbat al-Sahra - marks the place where the Prophet Magomed landed in his marvelous momentary migration from Mecca. On a winged steed and surrounded by angels, he descended to the mountain, leaving behind a trace of his foot and three hairs of beard to honor his descendants. Also Muslims worship "the foundation of the world" - a small rock under the golden dome with which the Lord began the creation of all things. The second mosque on the Temple Mount is Al-Aqsa. Despite its more modest size and lead dome, this sacral construction is of great importance for Muslims (the third after Mecca and Medina). Since at this point Mohammed - as the supreme imam - performed the night prayer together with all the prophets, the Al-Aqsa Mosque was for a long time a Qiblah. All Muslims turned to face this landmark during the prayer. And only later the qibla moved to Mecca.

Christian shrine

In addition to the fact that Jesus spoke about the Temple in Jerusalem , predicting its destruction, the Temple Mount is more important for those who believe in the New Testament. According to the teachings of the Church (which is based on the Book of Ezekiel), it is here that the Son of God will come here in glory and with the host of heaven to complete the Last Judgment of the world. With the sound of the trumpet, all the dead will come out of their graves. And in such a place, say tourists' reviews, you involuntarily think about your unrighteous deeds.

Esoteric shrine

Since all three religions consider the dark rock on the top of the mountain to be the place from which the Lord created the earth, this belief was reflected in all sorts of ideas of scientism. Esotericists believe that through the Moria there passes the telluric axis, on which the entire universe rests. In the time of the short rule of the Christian Crusaders in Jerusalem, the main residence of the Knights Templar was located in the Al-Aqsa Mosque. It is because of this that the congregation of knight-monks received its second name - the Templars. There are many (not confirmed by historians) ideas that the Templars used some secret texts and apocrypha, performed Gnostic cults and the like. Therefore, in this place you can meet crowds of esotericists, who are attracted to the mystery of the Temple Mount. In fact, in the basement of the mosque in the XII century, there were ordinary stables.

Temple Mount (Jerusalem): travel tips

There is this landmark in the southeast of the Old Town. The golden dome of the Kubbat-as-Sahra mosque is visible from afar. The complex itself is a large rectangular, walled area. In its center stands the Dome of the Rock, and from the edge - the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Although the Temple Mount, the photo of which is the "calling card" of Jerusalem, seems so high, it is not difficult to climb it even in the summer. Much more difficult, as the tourists say, to get into the complex itself. The fact is that because of religious conflicts, which are constantly blazing in the shrines (there are enough fanatics in any religion), the police, in order to restore order, block access to the square. It is best, as advised by experienced travelers, to come early. Only the checkpoint will have to stand an hour in line. It should be remembered that for women (for some reason in any of the mentioned religions they carp at the beautiful sex) long skirts and covered shoulders are mandatory. In this case, everyone is not allowed to bring to the territory of the Temple Mount any objects of worship, if you pass on a wooden bridge through a special checkpoint for tourists.