Winter and the Temple Mount

After a glorious week of weather in Jerusalem, a blast of winter arrived on Thursday morning. Suddenly it was raining and blowing a gale.

The view west from Jaffa Gate (20.12.12)

 The streets are a bit more river than road. Some drivers slow down when they see a puddle near a pedestrian and others, well, don't. Fortunately, as a born and bred Vancouverite I know how to dodge a puddle spray and use my umbrella as a shield.

Nablus Road in the rain (21.12.12)

Looking north on the green line at Shivtei Israel train station

The living room in my house is a pool - we've got about an inch of rain on the floor.

Hmmm...not so obvious in the photo, but there is an inch of water on the floor!

The torrents of rain were intermittent all day yesterday and today. It's vicious. These blasts of winter are starting to feel like tantrums. Generally, the weather is pretty pleasant, but when it isn't it really isn't. There is nothing mild about the rainstorms that visit the city.  I keep trying to think "groundwater recharge" (something positive) since you cannot complain about the rain in a climate like this where water is far from plentiful; there is no rain for the better part of 8 months of the year.

Early this week, when the weather was grand, I had the chance to visit the Temple Mount in the Old City. Temple Mount is a key religious site in Jerusalem.  As part of conference that my colleagues were hosting this week, there was a tour for the non locals. Arriving at the entrance to Temple Mount at about 830 am it was surprisingly quiet. No line up to get in and lots of space to absorb the sense of  the place. It definitely has a sanctuary feeling.

Temple Mount (18.12.12)

Temple Mount - Dome of the Rock

Temple Mount

Sitting at the northeast side of the Old City, just below the Mount of Olives the Temple Mount has been a holy site for thousands of years. Briefly (and far from entirely accurate, I am sure),  the key feature for Judaism is the Foundation Stone (from where the world was created in the Judaic tradition) and upon which the First Temple was built by King Solomon in about 950 BCE. The key feature for Muslims is the Rock over which the Dome sits.  The Dome of the Rock (completed in 691 CE) is more a commemorative site than a mosque. From the Rock, Mohammed is said to have ascended to heaven (with the angel Gabriel) where God gave him the Koran.  Also on the Temple Mount is the Al Aqsa Mosque. Since the second intifada non-Muslims are not granted entry, ever, to either the Dome or Al Aqsa.

Quite spectacular from the outside, the Golden Dome dominates one's view of the Old City from almost every perspective. For example, from the gym at the University on Mt Scopus.

Just there in the middle of the frosted glass is the Dome. Photo credit: Elka Gotfryd

And well it should given the value of its glitter - that's 80 kilos of  gold. Apparently King Hussein (of Jordan) sold a house in London to finance the gilding in the early 1990s.  I'm told the interior of the Dome is equally impressive.

The Dome of the Rock (18.12.12)

The Dome of the Rock plaza (18.12.12)

Tiles (not the originals) on the Dome of the Rock (18.12.12)

So, in short, a bunch of really important stuff happened in this small corner of the one square km in the world that is the Old City. The holiest Christian site, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is about 150 metres or so to the west, also inside the Old City.