Temple Mount: הַר הַבַּיִת
The Temple Mount, also widely known as the Noble Sanctuary, is located in Jerusalem atop Mount Moriah. This is are is widely considered to be the holiest site within the Jewish faith. According to Jewish traditions Mount Moriah is the place where the bare rock atop the mountain was held within the mouth of the serpent Tahum. This rock is believed to be the rock that formed the intersection of the underworld and the upper world. Also, according to Jewish tradition this site laid host to the site where Abraham built the altar on which he would sacrifice his son Isaac. At this site the patriarch Jacob gathered stone from the altar that his father was to be sacrificed upon and used them as a pillow to sleep upon. During that dream he envisioned angels ascending and descending a latter into heaven. When Jacob awoke, it is believed that the rock that Jacob slept upon proceeded to sink into the earth and would become the foundation stone for the Temple that Solomon would later build. The Temple Mount was the site of the first and second temples in Jerusalem. According to the Jewish faith when the messiah arrives the third and final temple shall be built. [1] Also this are is host to two of Islam's holiest shrines, The Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The Temple Mount and the surrounding area hold a lot of tradition within Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. As such this has become an extremely contested religious site.
The time at which the Temple Mount enters history is widely disputed within the religions of Judaism and Islam. History records have recognized that a First temple was built in 996 by the Israelites and then destroyed in 586 BC by Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. Construction of the second temple began in 530 BC after the Jews had been exiled in Babylonia. The Second Temple stood from 515 BC to 70 AD, when Titus of the Roman Empire destroyed it. The Romans were unable to destroy the entire temple and left the Western Wall still standing.[1] While the Byzantine Empire occupied Jerusalem historians believe that a church was built by Constantine’s mother that later became known as the Church of the Holy Wisdom. What was noteworthy about this church is that eventually it was destroyed and on its ruins the Dome of the Rock was constructed. Unfortunately this area was plagued by earthquakes that ruined a lot of the structures of the mosques and temples on the Temple Mount. Many of the structures around the area known as Temple Mount now date from the first half of the 11th century. [1]
(pictures taken from www.bibleplaces.com)
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