Jerusalem is a historically and religiously significant city located in the Judean Mountains. It is considered holy in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The document discusses the major Islamic architectural sites in Jerusalem, including the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque. It describes the architectural features and historical periods of development for each site. Key periods discussed are the early Islamic period after the Arab conquest, the Crusader period when sites were converted to churches, and the Ottoman period when many renovations occurred. The architectural styles and building materials used in each period are also summarized.

1. JERUSALEM
-SHAMEEN KHAN, SHEILJA SINGH, TAIYA
RASHID
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2. INTRODUCTION
• Jerusalem is located on the plateau in
the Judean Mountains between
the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea, is one of
the oldest cities in the world.
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3. • It is considered holy to the three
major religions -
Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
• The Jewish religion proclaims Jerusalem as
their homeland, which is why it is significant to
their religion.
• The Muslim faith believes the Prophet
Mohammed went through a miraculous trek
from Mecca to Jerusalem, from where He
ascended to Heaven, which explains why
Jerusalem is so important to them.
• The Christians believe that Jerusalem was
where Jesus was born, lived, died, and was
resurrected, explaining the significance of
Jerusalem to them.
• It is the third holiest place for Muslims after
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4. ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN
JERUSALEM
The development of Islamic architecture in
Jerusalem can be divided into four main
periods:
• The early Islamic period from the Arab
conquest to the first Crusade,
• The Crusader period,
• The Ayyubid and Mamluk periods and
• The Ottoman period.
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5. The old city
of
Jerusalem
is divided
into four
quarters.• Muslim
quarter
• Jewish
quarter
• Christian
quarter
• Armenian
quarter
(I) THE EARLY ISLAMIC PERIOD
FROM THE ARAB CONQUEST TO THE
FIRST CRUSADE
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6. THE FIRST MOSQUE IN JERUSALEM
• The area of the Temple Mount (Haram) was
developed for the first time since Hadrian's
destruction in 70 CE.
• The first mosque known to have been built in
Jerusalem was erected by the caliph Umar.
• It was a rectangular place of prayer roughly built by
setting big beams on the remains of some ruins.

7. DOME OF ROCK
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8. • The rock which the dome surrounds is
considered one of the most holy place, not
only by Muslims, but Jews and Christians as
well.
• The same Rock is associated with the prophet
Mohammad’s ascent to heaven, Creation of
Adam and where the Patriarch Abraham was
commanded to slaughter his beloved son Isaac.
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9. 9

10. • Diameter: 20m
• 30 meters high above
the surrounding
stone-paved
platform.
• supported by a
circular arcade of
four piers and
twelve columns.
• octagonal arcade of
eight piers and
sixteen columns,
which help support
the dome.
• The outer wall
repeats this octagon,
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11. SHAPE AND APPEARANCE:
• Located on a second trapezoidal platform with
the sides ranging in length from 128m on the
south to 167m on the west.
• more or less in the middle of western half of
the larger platform that from the southern
corner walled city of Jerusalem.
• The early mihrab in the grotto under the dome
of the rock probably dates to the Fatimid
period.
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12. CUPOLA
• the monument can be entered though four
doorways located on the cardinal points.
• dome was probably of copper over wood.
• During the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent
(1520 -1566) the exterior of the Dome of the Rock
was covered with Iznik tiles. The work took
seven years.
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13. INTERIOR:
• Windows are fitted
with stained glass
that provides a soft
light to the whole
interior.
• Piers are stone
covered with marble
while the columns
and capitals are
marble taken from
older Christian.
• Both the circular and
octagonal arcades
are linked by tie
beams above the
capitals.
• The interior of the
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14. • The Noble Rock is the focus of the interior of
the Dome of the Rock
• situated directly beneath the lofty dome and
surrounded by the highly ornate inner circular
and outer octagonal arcades.
• The mosque is octagonal in shape, having 8 sides.
Each side has a door and 7 windows, with rock
crystal carving.
• the ceilings of the ambulatories that form the
octagonal arcades are gilded and painted
plaster with fancy geometric designs.
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15. SURFACE TREATMENT
• Extensive decoration including mosaics, painted
wood, marble, multi-colored tiles, carpets,
and carved stone, covers most of the exterior
and interior of the building.
• Many of the 45,000 blue and gold exterior tiles
were installed under Suleiman in the 1500s.
Inside, 1,280 square meters of elaborate mosaics
cover the walls that enshrine the mystical rock
under the dome.
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16. • The intricate patterns and
geometric shapes of the
mosaics replace figurative
art since, according to
Muslim belief, it would be
impossible to represent
Allah in any figurative form.
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17. SYMBOLISM
• Instead, the shrine conveys its own message
through color and shape. In Islamic art, blue,
the color of the sky, suggests infinity, while
gold represents the color of the knowledge of
God. The shape of the dome itself is a powerful
symbol of the soaring ascent to heaven, its
circle representing the wholeness and balance
essential to the Muslim faith.
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18. AL-AQSA MOSQUE
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19. • Al-Masjid El-Aqsa is an Arabic name which
means the Farthest Mosque.
• Al-Aqsa Mosque ("the Farthest Mosque")is the
third holiest site in Islam and is located in
the Old City of Jerusalem.
• The site on which the silver domed mosque sits,
along with the Dome of the Rock, also
referred to as al-Haram ash-Sharif or "Noble
Sanctuary, is the Temple Mount, the holiest site
in Judaism.
• The Aqsa
Mosque is
located on
the southern
part of the
Haram al-
Sharif on an
axis with the
south door
of the Dome
of the Rock
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20. • Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Qur’an.
• What is mentioned is a “Night Journey” in which
it is said that Muhammad travelled from Mecca
to "the farthest mosque," and then up
to Heaven on a heavenly creature called al-
Buraq al-Sharif.
• Muslims throughout the World use Mecca as the
direction of prayers (Qibla). However, for 16½
months following the Prophet Mohammad's
miraculous journey, Jerusalem was the Qibla.
• The rectangular al-Aqsa Mosque and its
precincts are 144,000 square metres
(1,550,000 sq. ft.), although the mosque itself is
about 35,000 square metres (380,000 sq. ft.)
and could hold up to 5,000 worshippers. It is
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21. • Plan of the southern
side of the temple
mount, indicating the
major sites. The Al-
Aqsa mosque is in the
centre of the south
wall, and is capped by
a silver dome.
• After entering the main
entrance on the north
side, there is a large
colonnaded praying
hall.
• The mosque's southern
side is attached to the
temple mount south
wall. A prayer niche -
Mihrab - is installed on
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22. The south-west side of the temple-mount is seen
in the photo below. The Al-Aqsa mosque, with its
silver dome, is located on the southern wall
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23. The Islamic museum is located on the western side
of the Al-Aqsa. It was established in 1923 and
transferred to this location in 1927.
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24. Corinthian capitals are on display in the yard
between the museum and the Al-Aqsa mosque
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25. DOME• Unlike the Dome of the
Rock, which reflects
classical Byzantine archit
ecture.
• the Al-Aqsa Mosque is
characteristic of
early Islamic
Architecture. Nothing
remains of the original
dome built by Abd al-
Malik.
• The present-day dome
was built by az-Zahir and
consists of wood plated
with lead enamel work.
• In 1969, the dome was
reconstructed in concrete
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26. MINARETS
• Minarets are used to call
Muslims to prayer five
times a day.
• The mosque has
four minarets on the
southern, northern and
western sides.
• there are four minarets: 3
square and 1 cylindrical
from the Mamluk period.
• There are no minarets on
the Eastern side of Al-Aqsa
Mosque because there
were no inhabitants and
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27. FACADE AND PORCH
• It was crowned with a
balustrade consisting of
arcades and small
columns.
• The Crusaders damaged
the facade during their era
of rule in Palestine, but it
was restored and
renovated.
• One addition was the
facade's covering with
tiles.
• The second-hand material
of the facade's arches
includes sculpted
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28. INTERIOR
• The al-Aqsa Mosque has seven aisles
of hypostyle naves with several additional
small halls to the west and east of the
southern section of the building.
• There are 121 stained glass windows in the
mosque from the Abbasid and Fatimid eras.
• The mosque's interior is supported by
45 columns, 33 of which are white marble and
12 of stone.
• The column rows of the central aisles are
heavy and stunted. The remaining four rows are
better proportioned.
• The capitals of the columns are of four
different kinds: those in the central aisle are
heavy and primitively designed, while those
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29. Interior view of the mosque showing the central
naves and columns
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30. ABLUTION FOUNTAIN
• Mosque's
main ablution fountain,
known as al-Kas ("the
Cup"), is located north
of the mosque between
it and the Dome of the
Rock.
• Used by worshipers to
perform wudu.
• It was first built in 709
by the Umayyads, but in
1327–28 Governor Tankiz
enlarged it to
accommodate more
worshipers.
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31. 31

32. CRUSADER PERIOD
• The capture of Jerusalem by the
Crusaders marked an abrupt end to four
and a half centuries of Muslim rule
• One of the first priorities of the
Crusaders was to rebuild Christian
churches and monuments and convert
Islamic buildings to other uses.
• Mosques were converted into churches.
• The Dome of the Rock was given to the
Augustinians who made it into a church
whilst in 1104 Baldwin I made the Aqsa
Mosque into a royal palace.
• The Crusades influenced the subsequent
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33. AYYUBID AND MAMLUK PERIOD
• In 1188 Jerusalem was recaptured by
Salah al-Din and reconverted into a
Muslim city.
• The Haram was cleared of its Christian
accretions and reconstructed as Muslim
sanctuary.
• The cross was removed from the top of
the Dome of the Rock and replaced with
a golden crescent and a wooden screen
was placed around the rock below.
• Also at this time the famous wooden
minbar of Salah al-Din was placed next
to the new mihrab in the Aqsa Mosque.
• Porch of the Aqsa Mosque was built
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34. • The Mamluk period lasted from 1250
to 1516 and has provided Jerusalem
with some of its most beautiful and
distinctive architecture.
• During this period the walls of the
Haram were repaired and the interior
of the west wall was provided with
an arcaded portico.
• Several major buildings were built
within the Haram, one of the more
important of which is the Ashrafiyya
Madrassa built on the west side.
• One of the most productive reigns was
that of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad
during which time the Suq al-Qattinin
was built.
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35. ASHRAFIYYA MADRASSA
• Located on the western border of the
Haram al-Sharif between Bab al-Silsila
(Gate of the Chain) and Bab al-Qattanin
(Gate of the Cotton Merchants), both of
which lead to the Haram al-Sharif,
Jerusalem
• Built in Hijri 887 / AD 1482
• The founder of the madrasa was Sultan
Zahir Sayf al-Din Khashqadam but he
died before it was finished. Sultan
Ashraf Saif al-Din Qaytbay (r. ordered
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36. • Consists of two levels:
the ground floor and the
first floor.
• The ground floor extends
eastwards, thereby
entering the Haram-al-
Sharif, and stretches out
over the western wall of
Haram.
• The entrance to Madrasa
opens on the eastern and
southern side with two
tapered arches.
• The entrance is covered
by a fan-shaped vault,
built of alternating
GROUND FLOOR PLAN FIRST FLOOR PLAN
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37. • The entrance leads to
the vestibule, to the
north of which was once
a large hall known as
the assembly hall (Qa'at
al-Majma').
• On the eastern wall of
the hall there is a door
and two windows
opening onto the terrace
of the Haram.
• In the northern wall
there is also an entrance
and window; while on
the southern wall there
is another window and a
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38. • To the south of the vestibule
there is a stone stairwell
which leads to the first
floor and to a minaret that
towers above Babal-Silsila.
The first floor of madrasa
consists of a hall, which has
four iwans in a cruciform
plan.
• The largest iwan is the
southern iwan, which
contains the mihrab.
• Today large parts of the
first floor are in ruins, and
nothing remains of the iwans
except the walls.
• Despite this, the ground plan
is clearly evident, for it
corresponds to the Mamluk
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39. OTTOMAN
PERIOD• One of the best-known
buildings of Jerusalem
is the Damascus Gate
with its monumental
bent entrance,
crenelated parapet,
machicolations, arrow
slits and inscriptions.
• It forms part of the city
wall erected by
Suleiman the
Magnificent between
1538 and 1541.
• This was one of the
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40. • By the end of Suleiman's reign the
population of Jerusalem had grown to
three times its size at the beginning.
• Another project initiated during this
period was the covering of the outside
of the Dome of the Rock with Iznik
tiles.
• This took a period of at least seven
years during which several techniques
of tiling were used, including cut
tilework, cuerda seca, polychrome
underglaze, and blue and white
underglaze.
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41. BUILDING MATERIAL
• Main building material was stone, as
wood has always been fairly scarce.
• Limestone and Dolomite.
• Four types of limestone can be found in
the Jerusalem region, of which two
were used for building in the Islamic
period:
• (i) Mizzi, is a hard fine-grained stone
sometimes known as 'Palestinan Marble'.
This occurs in two varieties, a reddish
type known as mizzi ahmar from near
Bethlehem and a yellowish variety from
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42. CONTEMPORARY JERUSALEM
• The most distinctive architectural
feature of modern Jerusalem is the fact
that all buildings are faced in stone -
even the public toilets!
• This is the result of an aesthetic decision
made in the early 1920s by the first
British governor of Jerusalem, Sir
Ronald Storrs, who made it a city
ordinance.
• The result has given the city a certain
uniformity of character. And though
there can be startling incongruities
between design and material, the
requirement has, for the most part,
tended to have a moderating effect on
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43. THANK YOU ALL
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