The Dome of the Rock is in the Old City of Jerusalem and it was built during the 7th century. The Dome of the Rock marks the site where Prophet Muhammad made his Miraaj or Night Journey (al-Isra’) into the heavens(al-mi`raj) and back to Makkah (Qur’an 17:1). It represents the first example of the Islamic worldview and is the symbol of the oneness and continuity of the Abrahamic ie. Jewish Christian and Muslim faith. It has a colorful exterior wall decoration and a Golden Dome that is fully visible only when entering a space known as al-Haram al-Sharif (“The Noble Sacred Enclosure”). Al-Haram al-Sharif is a huge open-air platform built during Herodian times (1st century AD) to accommodate a Jewish Temple. The Dome of the Rock is built approximately in the center of the Haram on an additional platform and it is the most noticeable building within the premises of the al-Haram al-Sharif in the context of height and colors. The Dome of the Rock was built by the Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik during the period 685 to 691 A.D. It is the earliest Islamic monument that has survived to modern times. It is located on top of Mount Moriah, also known as Temple Mount and the monument is associated with both Jewish and Christian narratives.
The building of the Dome of the Rock surrounds the somber rock by two sets of colonnades and an octagonal exterior wall. The central colonnade is made of four piers and twelve columns which support a rounded drum that transitions into the two-layered dome, which is more than 20m in diameter. The Dome of the Rock uses the themes of Byzantine in its mosaics and domed roof. The dome itself is a great wooden structure. Both the interior and exterior of the shrine are richly adorned with polished marble and glittering glass mosaic against a gold background. It is speculated that much of the material and craftsmen might have come from Constantinople. It must be noted that the Dome of the Rock is the world’s only historic building with a ‘dome’ in its title (History World, 2007). The monument has a profound influence in making the dome a feature of Islamic architecture. In fact, the originality of the architecture of the Dome of the Rock is the flamboyance of the dome itself which is equal in height to the rest of the building and brightly gilded (History World, 2007). The dome seems to be the building when viewed from a distance. Situated on Temple Mount, the dome makes a dramatic architectural statement. In subsequent centuries domes of this kind become more common in the Muslim tradition. The dome or cupola, with equal diameter and height of about 25 meters is more striking than the cupolas of Byzantine churches. This is because they are made of wood and hence do not need side buttresses or side cupolas to support them as in the case of domes of stone (Garaudy, 1997). The dome has been covered with gold due to the devotion of the master builders Rija ibn Haya and Yazid ibn Salim. In the beginning, when it was first built, the curve of the dome was slightly horse-show shaped, something that must have emphasized an upward movement, symbolizing the night journey or Miraaj of the Prophet into the heavens. The dome is set upon a drum, which in turn is supported by the basic octagon that represents the earth, like a perfect octagonal crystal. The original facing consisted of glass mosaics, symbolizing the beauty of nature created by God (Garaudy, 1997). Currently, the dome’s facing consists of porcelain and is denser and darker. The delicate lacework of azure tiles in the gilded areas becomes less and less frequent as one descends from the drum to the ground though sunlight is eternally filtered downwards. The lowermost foundation’s flagstone is of veined marble that shimmers in the filtered sunlight. Sunshine and shade play endlessly in the framework of gilded porcelain. The arcades have identical curves but varying designs (Garaudy, 1997). Above the arches surrounding the monument, the subtle inflections of Nakshi calligraphy sing Earth’s last song to the Glory of God (Garaudy, 1997). It is said in the Mirhajnamah of Mir Haydar that when the Prophet Muhammad arrived in the Seventh Heaven, he saw a celestial vault in the colors of light. This is symbolized by the roof of the Dome of the Rock through its foliated scrolls, interlacements, arabesques, and mosaics of purple and gold. The message is recalled in gold letters on a black band. There are sixteen stained glass windows through which sunlight enters the monument. Quranic words are inscribed in places taht are highly visible such as the border of the cupola, in the niche of the mihrab and in the frame of the doorway, the friezes on the wall, and under the capitals of the columns (Ettinghausen and Grabar, 1987). There is a general atmosphere of beauty in the Dome of the Rock. The 14th-century traveler Ibn Batuta wrote “This is one of the most fantastic of all buildings. Its queerness and perfection lie in its shape… It is so amazing it captivates the eye… Both the inside and the outside are covered with many kinds of tiles of such beautiful make that the whole defies description. Any viewer’s tongue will grow shorter trying to describe it”.
In its major characteristics, the Dome of the rock follows the architectural practices of the Christian empire and the overall structure of the Dome of the rock is similar to a number of Christian churches (Shalimar, 2007). In Grabar’s words, it is “clearly in the tradition of the great Christian martyria and is closely related to the architecture of the Christian sanctuaries in or around Jerusalem, one of which commemorated the Ascension of Christ.” (Grabar, 1987, p. 48). Mr. Holum, who has a doctorate in history, has been directing excavation of Caesarea, one of the largest cities in Roman Palestine (Washington Times, 2007). During Mr. Holum’s excavation, he discovered that the Dome of the Rock was modeled after the octagonal church in Caesarea. This shows its similarity with Christian architecture. According to Mr. Houm, Muslims used Roman classical Christian architecture as inspiration for their own monumental buildings (Washington Times, 2007). Another resemblance of the Dome of the Rock with Christian architecture is the use of mosaics and dimly lit interiors. Mosaics are best suited to dimly lighted interiors and to constantly changing surfaces, such as the curves of an apse. The great mosaic interiors like St. Mark’s at Venice, Torcello the Florentine Baptistery, the Dome of the Rock at Jerusalem, and the Sicilian apses are all dimly lighted (Anthony, 1935, page 36).