The Dome of the Rock is an Islamic shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. It was initially completed in 691-692 CE at the order of Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik during the Second Fitna on the site of the Second Jewish Temple, destroyed during the Roman Siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE. The original dome collapsed in 1015 and was rebuilt in 1022-1023, being in its core one of the oldest extant works of Islamic architecture, even if it was patterned after nearby Byzantine churches and palaces.
Its outside appearance has been significantly changed in the Ottoman period and again in the modern period, notably with the addition of the gold-plated roof, in 1959-1961 and again in 1993. The octagonal plan of the structure may have been influenced by the Byzantine Church of the Seat of Mary, built between 451 and 458 on the road between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The Foundation Stone the temple was built over bears great significance in the Abrahamic religions as the place where God created the world and the first human, Adam.
It is also believed to be the site where Abraham attempted to sacrifice his son, and as the place where God's divine presence is manifested more than in any other place, towards which Jews turn during prayer. The site's great significance for Muslims derives from traditions connecting it to the creation of the world and the belief that the Prophet Muhammad's Night Journey to heaven started from the rock at the center of the structure. It has been called "Jerusalem's most recognizable landmark,"along with the Western Wall, and the "Resurrection Rotunda" in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
The Dome of the Rock is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site The Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls, about which I wrote here.
About the stamp
The stamp is part of the series Mountains in Israel, issued on March 5, 2019:
• Mount Meron (4.10 ILS)
• Mount Karkom (7.40 ILS) - It's on the postcard 3268
References
Dome of the Rock - Wikipedia
Sender: Marius Vasilescu
Sent from Jerusalem (Israel), on 07.03.2019
Photo: Hanan Isachar
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