Minggu, 29 Mei 2016

Places with Amazing Structure: Dome of The Rock









The Dome of the Rock is a shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. It was initially completed in 691 CE at the order of Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik during the Second Fitna. The Dome of the Rock is now one of the oldest works of Islamic architecture. It has been called "Jerusalem's most recognizable landmark," and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The octagonal plan of the structure may also have been influenced by the Byzantine Church of the Seat of Mary

Sometimes erroneously called the Mosque of Umar, from a tradition that it was built by Caliph Umar I, the Dome of the Rock was actually built by Caliph Abd al-Malik between 687 and 691. 
The Dome of the Rock is located on a rocky outcrop known as Mount Moriah, where, according to Jewish belief, Abraham offered his son Isaac as a sacrifice. The inscriptions inside the building glorify Islam as the final true revelation and culmination of the faiths of Judaism and Christianity. The building is actually not a mosque but a ciborium, erected over a sacred site.

According to later Islamic tradition, the Rock (al-Sakhra) in the midst of the building was the spot from which Mohammed ascended to heaven after his miraculous night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem on the winged steed al-Buraq.

Built between 685 and 691 C.E., this shrine is the first piece of Islamic architecture sponsored by a Muslim ruler that was created as a work of art. Its wooden gilt dome, which is approximately 20 meters in diameter, rises to a height of some 30 meters above the surrounding stone-paved platform. It is supported by a circular arcade of four piers and twelve columns. Surrounding this circle is an octagonal arcade of eight piers and sixteen columns, which help support the dome. The outer wall repeats this octagon, each of the eight sides being about 18 meters wide and 8 meters high. Many of the 45,000 blue and gold exterior tiles were installed under Suleiman the Magnificent in the 1500s. Inside, 1,280 square meters of elaborate mosaics cover the walls that enshrine the mystical rock under the dome.


Interior of the Dome of the Rock




Dome of the Rock exterior detail



The shape of the dome itself is a powerful symbol of the soaring ascent to heaven, its circle representing the wholeness and balance essential to the Muslim faith. 

Although sometimes referred to as the Mosque of Omar, the Dome of the Rock is in fact not a mosque. Nevertheless, as the oldest extant Islamic monument, it served as a model for architecture and other artistic endeavors across three continents for a millennium.


Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dome_of_the_Rock
http://domeoftherock.net/