When you arrive in Jerusalem, you can't help but climb the Temple Mount. This place is sacred to believers of three religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. According to legend, here Abraham had to sacrifice his own son.
The Temple Mount became the place where the Angel of the Lord appeared to King David during the pestilence. To end the epidemic, an altar to the Lord was erected on top of it. Here the ruler of Jerusalem wanted to build a Temple. But it was his son, King Solomon, who did it. After the consecration of the House of the Lord, a cloud filled it, signifying the presence of God. There were many treasures in it, but the main one was the Ark of the Covenant, where the tablets of Moses were kept. Mere mortals were not allowed to approach him. This was allowed only to the high priest on a single day of the year. The First Temple united all the Jews, becoming their sanctuary.
After four hundred years, the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem by enslaving the Israelites. The first Jerusalem Temple was plundered and destroyed. All the treasures were taken out by King Nebuchadnezzar, but no one knows what happened to the Ark of the Most High.
Another seven decades passed, and the Jews returned to their lands, deciding to revive theirshrine. The mountain in Jerusalem became the site of the construction of the Second Temple. The people of Israel restored their city to its former beauty and power. Under King Herod, the Temple Mount was surrounded by walls, of which only one Western Wall has come down to us. Pilgrims from all over the world pray near her, putting notes with their hopes in the cracks. It was named the Wailing Wall, as a symbol of grief over the destruction of the two Jerusalem Houses of the Lord. After all, the Second Temple was also destroyed, but by the Romans in our era. And the Jews received the right only once a year to come to the Wailing Wall and pray for an end to persecution.
As if in a mockery of the Jewish faith, Muslims erected their mosques on a sacred site. The Dome of the Rock marks the place from where the creation of the world by the Lord began, the place from which the prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. Until now, the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock keep the footprint and hairs from the beard of Mohammed. If we ignore the religious significance of the mosque, then this is one of the most ancient Muslim buildings that have survived to this day. It embodied all the art and skill of the architects of the ancient world.
Another shrine of Muslims is the Al-Aqsa Mosque, erected next to the Dome of the Rock. Although the definition of "one more" is incorrect. This is the third most important shrine in the Islamic world. Above it, Muslims value only Mecca and Medina. It was to her that all Muslims turned during prayer. Much later, the Sacred Mosque in Mecca became a reference point. Until now, thousands of Muslims go to this holy place every Friday.
Now the Temple Mount in Jerusalemis under Muslim rule. Neither Christians nor Jews can pray here. Several gates lead to it. Two of them can only be used by Muslims who come to pray in a holy place. The Temple Mount is accessible to tourists only if you pass through the Maghreb Gate, which leads to the Jewish Quarter.
But there is another gate: the Gate of Mercy, otherwise called Golden. But they are bricked up and await, together with the entire Israeli people, the coming of the Messiah, who will build the Third Temple and restore harmony and spiritual rebirth to the world.
