Drum – 15 August 2019

T

HE Temple Mount is a hill in
the city of Jerusalem in Israel,
and the holiest site in Juda-
ism. The 740m high hill is sit-
uated in the Old City, a walled
area within the modern city of Jerusa-
lem. Until 1860 this made up the entire
city. The Old City also contains the
WesternWall,whereJewsgotopray.

THE HILL OF HOLINESS

In part 3 of our series we look at the holiest site for Jews that also happens

to be significant to other religions COMPILED BY KIM ABRAHAMS INFOGRAPHICS: MICHAEL DE LUCCHI

WHAT WAS THE HOLY OF HOLIES?

It was the innermost area in both temples

where Jews believe God’s presence ap-

peared, which made it the holiest place in

Judaism. No one was allowed to enter it

except the Israelite high priest on Yom

Kippur (the Day of Atonement).

DO JEWS VISIT THE MOUNT?

Because the exact location of the Holy

of Holies isn’t known Orthodox Jews

won’t visit the Mount. This is to avoid

unintentionally entering it since they

believe some aspect of the divine pres-

ence of God is still present at the site.

WHATARETHETHREETEMPLES?

The First Temple (also known as Solo-

mon’s Temple) was a Jewish temple built

on the Mount in 597 BC. It’s believed

to have been destroyed by Babylonian

king Nebuchadnezzar II after he con-

quered Jerusalem in 586 BC. The Sec-

ond Temple was built in 516 BC and

destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

Most Jews believe a Third Temple will

be built before or when the Messiah

comes. He’ll be a great leader descend-

ed from the Israelite king David who’ll

unite the Jewish people and bring world

peace. The Third Temple will be built on

the site of the Dome of the Rock.

WHY IS THE MOUNT IMPORTANT

TO MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANS?

Muslims consider the site to be one of

the earliest and most significant places

of worship. During the first few years of

Islam the prophet Muhammad told his

followers to face the Mount during

prayer. Muslims believe Mohammed

ascended to heaven from here.

Christians believe it’s the site of sev-

eral events in Jesus Christ’s life and the

place where He spent His last days on

earth. Some believe the temple will be

reconstructed before or during the

secondcomingofJesus.

The Mount can be

reached through

11 gates – 10 reserved

for Muslims and one

for non-Muslims.

NOW YOU

KNOW

WESTERN WALL

This is all that remains of the Second

Temple, according to archaeologists.

Jews aren’t permitted to pray on the

Mount so they visit the Wall to do so.

It’s also been called the Wailing Wall,

referring to the practise of Jews weep-

ing at the site over the destruction of

the Temples. The term isn’t used by

Jews,whoconsideritoffensive.

AL-AQSA MOSQUE

This is Jerusalem’s big-

gest mosque. There’s

room for more than

4 000 Muslims to pray

at once.

GATE OF THE MOORS

This gate – also known as the Mughrabi Gate – is

named after the people who lived in the neighbourhood

in the 12th century. It’s the only entrance to the Mount

that’s open to non-Muslims.

Because of its importance to Jews, Christians and

Muslims, Temple Mount is one of the most disputed

religious sites in the world. To avoid conflict between

worshippers, the Israeli government forbids non-

Muslims from praying on the Mount. Non-Muslims may

only visit it as tourists and those observed praying on

the site will be removed.

NEW CITY

The first Jewish neighbourhood

(Mishkenot Sha’ananim) outside the

Old City walls was built here in 1860.

4 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

60 | 15 AUGUST 2019 http://www.drum.co.za