The Temple Mount is considered as one of the most sacred for three world religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It is identified with Mount Moriah, where very important events took place described in the Bible and the Koran.
You can see the crest of Mount Moriah in the center of the Dome of the Rock (non-Muslims aren’t allowed to enter this mosque). It is said that Abraham had to sacrifice his only son Isaac there. At that mount Jacob slept hiding from the anger of Esau. It was just there that the king David brought the Arc of the Covenant, and Solomon had the First Temple built there. As it is narrated in the Koran, the prophet Mohammed was carried by the sacred steed Al-Buraq to the Heaven from this mount.
From the Jewish Temple of Herod the Great only the Western Wall remained, also known as the Wailing Wall. In the Old Testament the prophet Jeremiah predicted that the Second Temple would be ruined, excepting its western wall, which would be always intact. And it became the main sacred thing for the Jews from all over the world. It is believed that during the Second Coming of Christ on the Temple Mount the Third Temple will be built, which will be the spiritual center for all Jews.
Today the Temple Mount with all its buildings belongs to the Muslims – it is the third important sacred thing of Islam after Mecca and Medina. At the top of the Temple Mount there were built 2 mosques: the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa (Mosque of Umar) Mosques. The Mount is open for visiting twice a day and tourists can ascend it through the Mughrabi Gate neat the Wailing Wall.
