Julian Barnett
Hidden Islamic Sects of Jerusalem, Part 1

Julian Barnett - Hidden Islamic Sects of Jerusalem, Part 1

- Thank you very much Lauren, and good evening everybody, and nice see you all again. In this next episode, in a series of lectures, about the sects of Jerusalem. The last two have been the Jewish sects of Jerusalem, parts one and parts two. Now I’m moving on today, to the Islamic Sects of Jerusalem, part one today, part two next week, the 14th, at the same time. And then later on, after Pesach, after Passover, it’s going to be the Christian Sects of Jerusalem. What I’m going to do today is similar to what I’ve done previously. I’m going to first take the physical, topographical, architectural, size of Jerusalem, of Islamic Jerusalem in this particular case, and paint you a picture of what Jerusalem is, architecturally and topographically, and so on, for Muslims within Jerusalem, and Muslims indeed around the world. I’m going to end off then at the very end of this evening, giving you a little taster of what will come next week, which will be, to hang on the hooks of what I’m establishing today, the various sects that occupy those buildings, and that occupy those valleys, in those parts of Jerusalem. I’m going to touch upon them today, but I’m going to deal with them, even in greater detail, next week. The first picture you will see, you might well be familiar with, because it’s what I’ve started off, I believe, all of my lectures so far, when it comes to Jerusalem, and that is me sitting in my home in Jerusalem, in the neighbourhood of Musrara, which is Arabic for small stones. It’s an old neighbourhood, sandwiched between East Jerusalem and West Jerusalem, just behind the “iriya”, or the town hall, and just up from Damascus gate, and just a little bit inwards from Meah Shearim, superbly located, for the sects of Jerusalem to visit me, as they did, in my Jerusalem years, 2002 to 2006.

Because my home was located in, I suppose, a very flexible area, where people could move around in and out, without concerning their communities, because it was one of those areas that people crossed, to get to others. So it was the perfect placed home, for me to entertain people, from the Islamic traditions, and the Jewish traditions, and the Christian traditions. There I am, sitting in my room, and now I’m moving on straight out of Jerusalem, to this structure. You have most probably seen this structure. It is the Kaaba, in Mecca. Mecca being the holy city in Islam, followed by Medina, followed, number three, by Jerusalem. More on that a little bit later. And there is the Kaaba, by Islamic tradition, built by Abraham. So in Islamic tradition, it way predates Islam, and we do know for sure, that this cuboid structure, covered in a very large, massive piece of black fabric, with gold embroidery upon it, was there way before Muhammad took Mecca, in 629, 630 AD. So the Kaaba is really important, in Islam. Muhammad was said to have taken Mecca, and then went into the single room, which is in the Kaaba, and threw out the idols, the hundreds of idols, that had been kept in the room, that had been created by the idolatrous, polytheistic, Arab tribes of the Arabian Peninsula, at that time. Moving on, is another picture of the Kaaba, from some distance, the Great Mosque in Mecca.

It’s getting forever bigger. More and more grandstands being built, More and more areas around it, being occupied. It’s a phenomenal place, and it does occasionally get into the news, sometimes simply because it’s a remarkable phenomenon. The Hajj and Ramadan, and of course Ramadan is in full swing, as I speak now, all over the Islamic world, and sometimes for not so good things. There might be stampedes of people, where hundreds of people might die, during the times of Hajj or Umrah, the the key times of the year, when there are pilgrimages to Mecca. But throughout the year, there are people coming in and out of Mecca. Tens and tens of millions of people. And a slightly closer up picture, you can see, that it is surrounded by the khaki green of soldiers, because it is the Saudi royal family, that jealously guards the independence and the autonomy, their autonomy, and their independence, to run the holy cities as they see fit, Mecca and Medina. So you can see there, that the black- I’m just pointing with my cursor here. The fabric is slightly lifted, by a system of pulleys and underneath are the very old stonework, those bottom three areas. You can also see a small door, that takes us into this tiny room, which is now empty, but which was, for centuries used for idolatrous worship, until Muhammad liberated Mecca from idolatrous worship, and brought it into monotheistic worship, thus started Islam. Look at that picture there.

The Plain of Arafat, outside of Mecca, where hundreds of thousands, sometimes, millions of people, camp out during Hajj and Umrah seasons. What you are looking at there, are tens of thousands of tents. It’s the tented city. With inter-city highways, and almost, spaghetti junction roads, coming in over them, so people can go, camp out, do the things they’re meant to do on pilgrimage, and then make their way to the ultimate part of that pilgrimage, which is to go to the Kaaba itself. And now over to Iraq. And you’ll see a moment, why I’m giving you the background to these things, before we go to Jerusalem. That is the Grand Mosque of Samarra. It is one of the oldest mosques in Iraq, and it was close to that mosque, where Ali was assassinated. Now, just to give you a very quick history of those early years of Islam, which are crucial, in order to understand what we’re going to look at in Jerusalem. Muhammad died in 632 AD, and then you have a succession of, what were called, the Rashid guardians, including Ali, of which were four. So immediately following Muhammad, there was Abu Bakr, and after Abu Bakr, Umar, who eventually took Jerusalem, in 638 AD. After Umar, Uthman, and after Uthman, Ali. From that point onwards, from the assassination of Ali, very close to here, in Samarra, Islam, split. The great split of Islam, as well as many other smaller splits, as well, between Sunnah and Shia, Sunni and Shia. And Shia were the breakaways, Sunni remained, were then, and remain until now, the mainstream, 85 to 88% of the Muslim world are Sunni. Closeup of that incredible structure. You can see how, I hate to use the word primitive, it’s not. Simple. It’s a very simple, very early structure, not the first Islamic structure.

That honour goes to the Dome of the Rock, in Jerusalem, or it’s octagonal forebear, which I’ll come to very shortly. Look at that closeup, the people making a pilgrimage, on this really important site, near the original part of the first Shia martyrdom. And you will get, as well, millions of people, coming to this site, climbing up this cylindrical, spiral staircase. There we are. So now we’re going to Cairo, and I think, can I still use my cursor? I can, can’t I? Yes, I can. So for, my cursor is working for some reason, on it still, but I’m not sure whether people can see that. They probably can’t. So there is Azhar University in Cairo. Now Azhar is the centre of the Sunni Muslim world, in that sense, Cairo is arguably, one of the, well- Certainly one of the most important Islamic cities in the world. And even though the two- The three holy cities of Islam, Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem, those top three, are, of course, not in Cairo, I would argue that politically speaking, the beating pulse of Islam, is this place here, Azhar University. It is the central Sunni university of the Islamic world. And because the Sunni Muslims are 85 to 88% of the Muslims of the world, this is the real heartbeat of the Islamic world, that sets the tone for the Islamic world. I can’t overemphasise really, how important this is. And the next picture please. It’s dominated by this magnificent architecture, of the Fatimid period, and then what became the Mamluk period, later on, down the line.

That is the interior of Azhar University, which was established, way back, in the 9th and early 10th century. So, this is a really ancient university. Next picture please. And another shot of Azhar University. Very different architecturally, to what you would find in, for example, Ottoman Istanbul, a completely different style, of Islamic architecture. Fatimid, Mamluk, some influence from the Umayyads and the Abbasids, who were based in Damascus and Baghdad respectively. So a tremendous melting pot of Muslims around the world, came, and still come, to Cairo. This is where the tone is set, for what happens around the Islamic world, I would strongly argue. Next picture please. So this is one of the Muftis of Al-Azhar University, in Cairo. Very, very important person, because Sheikh Tantawy, being one of the most important sheikhs in Cairo, means that he has a tremendous effect, of what goes on, in and around the Muslim world. He’s a government appointee. He was appointed by President Sisi, the current president of Egypt. And if you can go to the next picture, you’ll see the Grand Sheikh of Azhar, and look what is behind him. ‘Cause now we’re going to go to Jerusalem, and now you’ll see why I have given you this detour, from Mecca, Medina, and Samarra and Cairo, and why we are now coming back into Jerusalem. Because no matter how important Mecca and Medina are, and no matter how important Cairo, and the centre of the Shia Muslim world is, in Iran and Iraq, Jerusalem is right up there in importance.

Look how this man, in Cairo, one of the centres of the Islamic world, has, right behind him, the backdrop to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. Now, I’d just like to say something about this, because there is an enormous argument, and a debate, over why Jerusalem is so important to Muslims. One version goes as follows, I mean, Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa means the furthest, or the most remote. So there is a tradition, that Muhammad went on the night flight, on the winged creature El Buraq, and he ended up flying from Mecca to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is not named in the Quran. But there is a city in the Quran, that is named, as simply being, the most remote, Aqsa, the furthest. And it’s also called Al-Quds, the holy, but it’s never identified as Jerusalem. So there are three ways to take Jerusalem, from the point of view of how Muslims see it. Way number one, is that it’s all a terrible misunderstanding. And in fact, those very early mosques, of the closer mosque, and the further mosque, were nothing to do with Jerusalem, and that they were in the Arabian Peninsula, near Mecca and Medina. Version number two, is that Jerusalem was indeed where Muslims, very early on, identified Muhammad, as flying to, in that miraculous night journey to Jerusalem. Version number three, which, personally I favour, is I think it misses the point, if we’re arguing about well, which is Al-Aqsa? Was Jerusalem truly what Muslims turned to at the beginning?

Because the fact is, there is 1.1 billion Muslims, on the planet, who consider Jerusalem the third holiest city in Islam. And indeed, it is undoubted, that from the first generation of Islam, Jerusalem was identified, either rightly or wrongly, whether it was for economic or political reasons, it was identified, as being a key city in Muhammad’s plan, and in Islam, and so on. So key, that by 681 AD, very soon after the death of Muhammad, within 40 years, the Dome of the Rock had been built, which makes the point of how important Jerusalem was, for whatever reason. So I find it almost… It’s almost academic, to discuss where is the true Aqsa mosque. The fact is, Jerusalem was in the consciousness of Islam, almost from its outset. And that is a very, very important fact, to get our heads around, in order to understand the power of Jerusalem within the international Islamic psyche. If we can move on to the next picture, we will see what I’ve shown you before. That satellite picture of Jerusalem, bottom left corner of the walled city, you can see the Dome of the Rock on that platform just there and the Muslim- the Dome of the Rock platform, the Haram Al-Sharif, the noble sanctuary, the Temple Mount, all the same thing, occupies about 22%, a little above 22%, of the total area of the old city of Jerusalem. It’s an enormous space. Many, many Jews don’t go up there, for Halachic reasons. There are strong Halachic opinions, that it is forbidden to go up, partly because we’re in a state of permanent impurity, since we no longer have the red heifer.

And this is the area of the Temple of Jerusalem, partly, because we don’t know for sure, for sure, where the actual Holy of Holy stood, where the temple stood, and therefore we could be walking on an area, where it was forbidden to go. So therefore, the majority Halachic opinion is, that Jews should not go up there, until there is a third temple. But it is an amazing area, partly because it’s the space. So you leave the very cramped, and the very intense, and the very noisy, and chaotic old city, that we are all used to seeing and visiting, for those of us that have been lucky enough to go, and you enter this massive area of tranquillity, of trees and of olive orchards, and of very, very exquisite buildings. And then you have this incredible backdrop, down to the Kidron Valley, and overlooking the Mount of Olives, Mount Scopus, from one side, from the eastern side, and from the western side, the most amazing view, slightly looking down onto the rest of the old city, because the Temple Mount, is indeed a mount, it’s on a slightly higher elevation. Next picture, please. Again, you’ll be familiar with this next one, which is the four quarters of the old city of Jerusalem. And you can see that the Muslim quarter is by area the largest, and it is by population, way the largest. Look at the Muslim quarter, and bear in mind that the green to the right of it, which is that roughly, trapezium, rectangular shape of the Temple Mount, Haram Al-Sharif, you can really see how big Muslim Jerusalem is. Bear mind also though, that the Christian quarter, and the Armenian quarter, are both Christian, the Armenians being one of the sects of Christian Jerusalem, of which I’ll talk much more of in the next couple on lectures, on Christian sects of the city. And the next picture please. So that’s one of the classic views, and again, I want to emphasise how I’m sort of, bringing you a topographical, architectural side, to Islamic Jerusalem in a large part of this lecture.

And you can see there, that you have the golden gate there, sometimes also known as the Gate of Mercy, there. And that’s on the eastern wall of the old city. That’s one of the walls that has moved the least, because of course it could hardly move, because you’ve got the backdrop of the valley. The northern wall has moved over the millennia, in Jerusalem. The southern wall, to a certain extent has moved, when Herod extended the platform of Mount Moriah, literally, extended the mountain, by filling it with rubble and top soil. And the eastern walls have moved- The western walls of the old city of Jerusalem have moved, somewhat. But this eastern wall has hardly moved at all, because it was pretty impossible to move, because the topography of the city meant that you had just a drop off the Kidron Valley, and that was that. That is what dictated it. There is the Sealed Golden Gate, which, by tradition, Jewish tradition, it will be open when the Messiah comes. Very important to Jews, very important to Christians, very important to Muslims. And sitting atop, is the Dome of the Rock itself. Next picture please. What often surprises people, when they enter the Haram Al-Sharif, Dome of the Rock area, is how huge the spaces are, between the buildings. You get a slight sense of it there. That is Adnan Husseini, he was head of the Waqf, the trust that runs all the affairs, of the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa. He retired from that post, I believe, in 2019. Notice the name Husseini. Very, very important, Palestinian, Islamic family. The Husseinis were very influential, going way back into the early Ottoman period, the early 15th century. Very important during the time of Turkish rule, British rule. And they are still big players in Jerusalem to this day, from the point of view of what goes on in that crucial area. Right behind him, are a set of four arches, Mamluk period, built in about 1280, and behind that, of course, is the Dome of the Rock itself. The steps behind him, are from the Second Temple period. More on those, when I give you a close up later, a powerful and influential man. Next picture, please. Mufti Ekrima, the Mufti of Jerusalem.

Powerful character, again appointed by the King of Jordan, because even after the six day war in 1967, when Jerusalem fell into Israeli hands, the agreements were kept, whereby, although sovereignty of the Temple Mount is under Israeli hands, the actual surface of the Temple Mount, the Haram Al-Sharif is controlled by the Waqf, and is controlled by the Mufti of Jerusalem, appointed by the King of Jordan, the Hashemite King of Jordan, who claims descendancy from the prophet Muhammad. Highly symbolic, powerful ideas, behind all of these things I’m saying. And the next picture. This I took many years ago, because I just thought it was such a wonderful picture, because there you have the silver zinc dome, of St. John the Baptist Church, which is the oldest church in Jerusalem. It predates the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. More on these churches next week, and the week after- Sorry, in a few weeks time, when we look at Christian Jerusalem. But I love that picture, because you know you have the cross, atop St John the Baptist Church, which is on Christian Quarter Road, and there you have the Dome of the Rock, seemingly, you know, literally, spitting distance from it, but it is a little bit further. But it does emphasise, how the the holiest sites of Christendom, and some of the holiest sites of Islam, are so close together. Now the thing I wanted you to also see, is that you can see the silver dome in the foreground, and you can see the golden dome in the background. Look at the little stone dome, between the two, just next to the trees, sandwiched between the two, a little stone dome. More on that very shortly. Next picture please.

This is another structure on the Haram Al-Sharif, the Temple Mount. And what I want to draw your attention to, it’s called the Dome of the Spirits. And I want to draw your attention to the floor area, underneath that little cupola, underneath the little dome. Because the floor area, is really significant. Look at the floor area around the structure, and you can see that it’s all flagstones, and paving stones, and almost cobblestones They’re very old, by the way. They are in the main Herodian Second Temple period. What you are looking at there, is the raised platform, most probably, where the Second Temple stood. The majority opinion, it’s not conclusive, because we can’t dig down there, but the majority opinion, is that the Second Temple, most probably stood where the Dome of the Rock now is, which is the shaved off summit of Mount Moriah, that incredibly important, significant area, whereby Jewish tradition, Abraham almost sacrificed his son Isaac, where Ibrahim almost sacrificed his son Ismail, in Islamic tradition. But what you are looking at here, is something really remarkable. It’s a very early structure, goes all the way back to the 10th, 11th century. Firstly, look at the little pillars, that hold up the dome, and they are very dainty, and they’re made of marble. But then look at the little capitals above the pillars. They’re of a different stone altogether. They’re from the Byzantine period, and then the arches are from a different period, and the dome from another. What you are looking at there, is a wonderful microcosm, of the various periods of building, in Islamic Jerusalem.

Since Jerusalem fell to Muslim rule, under Caliph Omar, in 638 AD, when patriarch Sophronius handed over the keys to the Holy Sepulchre Church. But look underneath the dome, because underneath the dome, there’s no flagstones or cobblestones. It’s one large sheet of stone. Why is that? That is another shaved off section, of the top of Mount Moriah. It is often missed by people. There are quite a few buildings on that platform, where you literally, are looking at the bedrock of Mount Moriah. It’s so fascinating and thrilling, that you are literally looking at the top of that shaved off hill, that incredibly historic hill. And the next picture. This is the little stone dome I pointed out, that I said was sandwiched between, on that photograph, bit of an optical illusion, of St. John the Baptist Church, and the Dome of the Rock. This is the dome, another structure on the Temple Mount. Once again, look at the size, look at the spaces of the Temple Mount, look at the spaces of the Haram Al-Sharif. We all know about Al-Aqsa Mosque, we all know about the Dome of the Rock. But what’s really amazing, is these spaces there, there are many buildings, and many spaces, these beautifully polished flagstones, which many, many of which, go back to the Second Temple period. And that particular dome structure, was built in the 12th century, or 13th century actually. It’s Mamluk period, early Mamluk period. And the Mamluks were a ruling dynasty, that ruled over Baghdad. Sorry, Damascus, Cairo and Jerusalem, Damascus, Cairo, Jerusalem, not Baghdad, I’m sorry. And they ruled over those three cities, and the areas between them, and they were tremendous builders. And Jerusalem was a very important city for the Mamluks. This was a Mamluk structure, and it was built in order to make a political message. Now remember that dome’s structure, just remember that, and I’ll explain that a little later. Next picture please.

We are now looking westwards, from the Temple Mount, and we are looking towards the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. There they are, those familiar two grey domes, of the Holy Sepulchre Church. Much, much more on that, when I turn to Christian Jerusalem. But there is a linkage, between the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Dome of the Rock, and the Haram Al-Sharif, the Temple Mount platform. And that linkage, is that link, between Islam and Christianity, which is so close, and it’s fraught, sometimes, and sometimes it’s joyous, but it’s complex and it is the Jerusalem story. Now there you can see the two grey domes. Just look at almost the left hand side of the picture, and you will see a square shaped minaret, tall and slender. That’s the Mosque of Omar. There is another Mosque of Omar in Jerusalem, just to confuse things. And that’s actually near Al-Aqsa. This is the second- This is the first Mosque of Omar, built on the orders of Omar in 638 AD when he took the city. And then on the other side of the domes, of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, is the minaret of the Khanqah mosque, the Mosque of Strangulation. If we go to the next picture, you will see what I mean. So there we have the Dome of the Rock, the two domes. The smaller dome is the Greek Orthodox chapel. The Greek Orthodox being the key landowners in Jerusalem, after the Israeli government, more on that another time. And the larger dome, behind the bell tower, is the dome built right above the Edicule, the burial place of- the traditional site for the burial place of Jesus, according to most, but not all, most Christian traditions.

Now look at the two minarets again. There is the Mosque of Omar minaret, on the left, and there is the Khanqah mosque minaret, on the right, just poking up between the two domes. Now why do I show these two minarets? Because if you turned the minaret of the Mosque of Omar, onto its end, so you turned it flat, precisely 20- it stands precisely, one 28th of the distance, from a really important point near the Dome of the Rock. And I’ll explain that very shortly. Why am I explaining this? Because in Jerusalem, hardly any buildings are there by chance. Put another way. There is significance to every single building, every single gate, every single structure. There is significance, read into it by the peoples of Jerusalem, Christians, Jewish, Islamic. Sometimes the significance is exaggerated, sometimes the significance is overstated. Sometimes the significance is simply incorrect. Sometimes the significance is spot on. It’s almost irrelevant, what that significance is. The fact is, that everything in Jerusalem is significant, and that is key to understanding this city. Now what was that minaret built for? One 28th of the distance from where something else stands, near the Dome of the Rock? The answer to that question is as follows. When Caliph Umar took Jerusalem in 638 AD, that’s only six years, after Muhammad had died, Jerusalem fell to Muslim conquest. That’s a remarkably short period. After he took the city, he was, relatively speaking, quite enlightened. Now he could have ransacked the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, this rambling Byzantine structure. Remember, the crusader structure was not yet built. That’s the 11th century structure. But there was a Byzantine structure in Jerusalem, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which had been built in the main, from the the wishes of Constantine, his mother, who visited.

When Caliph Umar took the city, he didn’t ransack the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. He gave back the keys, to Sophronius, the patriarch of Jerusalem, on condition, that Sophronius recognised the sovereignty of Muslim rule over Jerusalem. And just to remind the Christians, that the Muslims were there, and there to stay, Caliph Umar built a minaret right opposite the entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. And later on down the line, when Salah al-Din took the city, during the crusades, he built another minaret on the other side of the dome. Those two minarets are precisely equidistant from the tomb of Jesus, from the Edicule underneath that grey dome. The message is clear. That Christianity is there, we respect it, but it’s tolerated. Islamic rule was supreme. That was the message from Caliph Umar. No massacre occurred, no despoliation, or spoliation of the church occurred, but Christians were under no illusions, about who was in charge of Jerusalem. It’s a fascinating example, of the use of architecture to make points. Next picture, please. There is inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre the Edicule that I was talking about, beneath the dome. Lots more than that, in the future. And the next picture please. So there is a closeup of that minaret, turned on its ends, times 28. Next picture please. And the next picture please. We come back onto the Temple Mount platform, which is 28 times the distance, from where that minaret stood. And there is the Dome of the Rock, slightly closer up, with the Dome of the Chain to its left. Nobody knows for sure, what the purpose of the Dome of the Chain was.

Was it just a shelter for the architects who built the Dome of the Rock? Was it a treasury, that contained the funds and chests of gold coins to pay those that built the Dome of the Rock? Was it a prototype, of the Dome of the Rock? There’s many, many theories. It’s a very beautiful structure. A very delicate structure, and very ancient. And there it stands, look at those flagstones. Second Temple period flagstones. Remarkable survivor. Just look at that 2000 years old, 1900 years old, where they’ve always been. And the next picture please. And there are some of those steps, from the Second Temple period. The flagstones on the right, are much more recent of course. They’re from 1960s onwards. But look at those vast stones, leading up to the steps. They are the original stones from the Herodian period. Next picture please. And this shows a series of arches. And on top of those arches, you will notice, and I have shown this picture to you once before, it’s a set of Mamluk arches, again, Mamluk period, although the pillars holding them up. and the capitals on top of each pillars, are Byzantine and Roman period. So we’re talking about secondary use of things, which is very common in the ancient world. And after you walk up 28 steps, you get to the arches, and on top of those arches are 28 holes. Remember that number 28, going all the way back, to the minaret of the Mosque of Omar, where those arches stand, are precisely 28 times the distance of the height of the minaret, from where it stands, in front of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Absolutely powerful points made, about the power of Islam in Jerusalem. Next picture please.

So that’s now looking at those holes, you can see some of those 28 holes, looking out towards the Kidron Valley. And you can see the Russian Orthodox convent there, which is by the way, where the mother of Prince Philip is buried. She’s not exactly buried. She’s actually in an above ground coffin, in a little sarcophagus, just in one of the side chapels to there, looking out towards the Mount of Olives, to Mount Scopus. And the next picture. Now a close up of the Dome of the Rock itself. Stunning building. The current… The first Dome of the Rock, octagonal structure, Byzantine design, almost mimicking the Dome of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which was a Byzantine period structure, that was already there, since the 11th century. This is the oldest purpose-built Islamic structure, in the world. So the original Dome of the Rock was built in 681 AD. This stone structure, replaced the original octagonal wooden structure. It was built later on. And the tiles that you’re looking at there, were put in in the 1552 construction, ordered by Suleiman the Magnificent, the second sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

If you look at the near bottom line of tiles, for those that tuned in, to when I gave a tour of certain artefacts in my home, here are two of the tiles from the Church of the- from the Dome of the Rock. There they are. So just zooming in a little further, and you can see some of those tiles, near the bottom. They’re magnificent. They separate, they come together. They’re beautiful, beautiful things. These tiles were made- Well in fact, one was made in Iznik, and one was made in Damascus, the two greatest centres, of mediaeval Islamic tile making. Long story how I came by them, which is for another time. But they were on the Dome of the Rock. They were taken down by the British for… how can I put it? Essential repairs, in 1922. They never found their way back up there. But they are truly magnificent. And the Dome of the Rock is magnificent. And as you can see there, the band of calligraphy, are all surahs, chapters, sections from the Quran, which describe the night flights, from Mecca to the furthest mosque, wherever you interpret that to be. Whether the furthest mosque was in Jerusalem, or whether it was the furthest mosque somewhere in the Arabian peninsula. Magnificent structure. Next picture, please. We’re now going to go inside. And the Dome of the Rock is this dome structure. It’s not a mosque, it’s a shrine. And it’s built over the bedrock, the very shaved off summit of Mount Moriah. Look at the pillars there. Basalt columns, Byzantine period. Look at the Byzantine mosaics above the arches. Look at those striped zebra, Ablaq patterned arches. And now if we go to the next picture, we will see the actual stone itself.

That is a section of Mount Moriah. It pops up in a few places on the Temple Mount. I showed you the Dome of the Spirits, where you see a little bit. But this is a really big area, of shaved off stone. There is actually a very tiny cave underneath, a strange and haunting place. Extremely difficult to get access to nowadays. It is not impossible though. An atmospheric a place, I have never been to, on this earth, as the cave underneath that stone. That is a deeply historic stone. And that is the focal point of the three monotheistic faiths of the world. If it was the spot where the Second Temple stood, I mean the Second Temple stood, certainly stood, somewhere in this vicinity, although there is some argument, maybe the Second Temple was in a couple of other places. The Jewish Quarter, to the Nea Church, what is now called the Nea Church, is one theory. Some people say it could be where Ir David is, but the majority opinion, is that the Second Temple stood somewhere on Mount Moriah. And the majority, of that majority opinion, would say that it probably stood here, on this shaved off top part of Mount Moriah. It’s a remarkable thing. Next picture, please. Just to give your bearings. There is the Dome of the Rock, golden dome. There is the Aqsa Mosque, the silver dome, right hand side of the picture. And you can see the Western wall, the Kotel, is on the left hand side of the picture, dropping straight down. You can see with the big space in front of the Western Wall. So the Western Wall was, in effect, wasn’t really part of the Temple, it was part of the retaining wall, that held up the immense weight of Mount Moriah, because Mount Moriah was an actual mountain. But remember, that Herod, in effect, extended the size of the hill, by massively building it up with buttresses and walls, which meant that there was, and there is, always a pressure to push out those walls.

Those walls are constantly under pressure, because it’s not a natural hill, so that constant repair is needed, and that repair is sometimes done by the Islamic authorities, sometimes it’s done by the Israeli antiquities authorities, and so on. So there you get an idea, of what it all looks like. It puts it all into perspective. And the next picture, please. There’s a picture of Al-Aqsa Mosque itself. Beautiful structure. Look at the very, very far left transect of the mosque, right at the edge of the picture, and you can see that there’s a window, that’s straight out of a European gothic cathedral. It’s a rose window. It could be in Notre-Dame. Heavy influence. Crusader. This interplay of the influence of the crusaders upon Islamic architecture, Islamic architecture upon Crusaders, who then brought back many Islamic ideas to Europe, to build structures like Durham cathedral, and other such places here in England. Let’s go on to the next picture, please. Inside Al-Aqsa. Beautifully painted, simple stonework on the inside. And the next picture please. And many structures on the Temple Mount, itself. Many, many structures. Just going to go through a few of these now. Next one please. There’s a perfusion of Madrassas, of tombs. Look at that stonework, striped stonework, Ablaq, Mamluk stonework, magnificent, beautiful. You see it all over Cairo. Cairo is going to be one of the cities, that I’m going to cover in future talks, Hidden Cairo. And I’m going to show you a lot of Mamluk structures in Cairo. Wonderful work. So we are talking 13th, 14th century for this building. Next please. All of these structures are on the Temple Mount itself. And next. And the next.

Now look at this picture. Very interesting. So there you can see the top part is buildings, literally built on the bedrock of Mount Moriah, which has been hollowed out. So what the builders did, was they created almost a crater, where the Temple Mount now is. And that structure built on top there, those barred windows, those bars are 600 years old, the Mamluk period, that is thought to be the remains of the Antonia Fortress, which was built by the Romans, during the time of Jesus, during the ministry of Jesus. But then as you go down the wall, you can literally see the bedrock of Mount Moriah. It just becomes natural rock, that has just been chiselled away and flattened away, to look as if it’s a sheer wall. But what you’re looking at there is sheer rock, with a building built on top. It’s a great cross-section of Jerusalem architecture, there. You’ve got the bedrock of ancient times, you’ve got Roman period, Ottoman period, sorry, Roman period, Mamluk period, Ottoman period, and a little bit of British period, right at the very top, rather like the Western Wall. Next picture please. And one of the actual fruit markets, and fruit areas within the Temple Mount complex, 'cause many people live up there, and work up there. These cavernous, wonderful structures, where people live and work. Next please. One of the madrassas, where young men learn about their religion, in one of the many schools, around the Dome of the Rock compound. And the next please. And this is a picture of the Qaytbay mausoleum, in Cairo. More than that in a future talk on Cairo, but look at that structure, remember its shape. And now to the next picture, please.

There is is the Qaytbay Sabil, the water fountain, the Qaytbay, a great and generous Mamluk benefactor, donated to Jerusalem. All of that, gives piped up water, from one of the many water systems and wells, around the area, again on top of the Temple Mount area. Next picture please. Now the Southern Wall, the sealed Triple Gate. Natural stairs, bedrock, which would’ve led up to three tunnels, that lead onto the basement, into the basement of Al-Aqsa. By the way, although those three doors are sealed, the tunnels behind them, are in cracking order. They are magnificent, they’re Herodian period, they still have some of their original paintwork on them. It’s the best preserved Herodian work in Jerusalem. I choose my words carefully, because the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, is even better preserved. That’s a fantastically preserved Herodian structure. Look at the left most, of the three arches, and look at the bottom of the arch, on the left. And you can see huge Herodian period stones. Can you see them? The bigger stone, the biggest stones in the wall. They are from the Second Temple period. Next picture please. And the entrance from Souq Qattanin, up onto the Haram Al-Sharif, the noble sanctuary. Next picture please. And the entrance from the other end, to Souq Qattanin. And the next one. Which is, I believe a Ramadan picture? Yes it is. It’s taken during Ramadan. And you can just see at the end of that picture, I took this picture, I think it was in 2004. At the end of the picture at the top, you can see the glistening tiles of the Dome of the Rock, just peeking through the doors, and the curtains there, right at the top, the Dome of the Rock at the very, very top of the stairs. Magical. This was on one of the large scale dinners and celebrations, Iftar celebrations that occur, at the end of every Ramadan night. Next picture please.

Now we leave the old city. And for the final few pictures, I want to give you a taste for next time, because what I’ve looked at so far is, as I mentioned, the topography of the old city. This is Herod’s Gate, known in English as Herod’s Gate, known also as Flowers Gate, known in Hebrew as Sha'ar HaPrahim, known in Arabic, as Bab al-Zahra, the Gate of the Spirits. Every gate has multiple names. A concept I’ve mentioned to you before, about how every people in Jerusalem understands Jerusalem from different points of view. Every place has different names. There’s no agreed names for some of the things in Jerusalem. And if you look at the next picture, another of the important entrances out of the Temple Mount is Damascus Gate. English, Damascus Gate. Hebrew, Sha'ar Sh'khem. In Arabic, Bab al-Amud, the gate of the column, because it was said to be there, that the column with a statue of Hadrian, was meant to be above. Again, another focal point of the city, but nobody can agree what to call it. What you call it, depends on what culture you come from, within that rich, rich mosaic of Jerusalem. And just out of interest, just to the left of the huge entrance into Damascus gate, you can see the Roman entrance. There’s the archway, just to the left, underneath it. Next picture please. Sitting at the gate, are one of these, the people that you might well have seen, the ladies that have, since time immemorial, have been selling sage, or many other types of herbs. This isn’t sage, actually. I think she was saying kusbara or coriander.

But I would often go down there, and buy sage from the ladies. And sage in tea is a wonderful, wonderful thing to drink. If you’ve never put sage in tea, it’s fantastic. So the final few pictures are going to give you a taste, because next week, a week today, I’m going to hang on the hooks, of the physical Jerusalem, the physical Islamic Jerusalem, of today, I’m going to hang on the hooks, the sects of that city. Look at these. This little taste of the people I’m going to show you. Next picture please. I’m going to show you the women, the Islamic women of Jerusalem. Women have played a key role in Jerusalem, since the Mamluk period. Jerusalem was one of the pre-eminence, women’s Islamic cities, in the Islamic world. There is a woman leading prayer, so unusual, near the Dome of the Chain, and behind the Dome of the Chain, the Dome of the Rock. And the next picture please. And here is one of the pilgrims coming into Jerusalem, from other parts of the Muslim world, from Tuareg, north-west Africa. And the next picture please. And here are Sufi, near the wall, that separates the- the wall that was built, in the early part of the 21st century, the edge of Jerusalem, to seal off the West Bank from the rest of Jerusalem, or Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank. And here is a man in the trance, a Sufi, with people standing near the wall. I’m going to talk more about the Sufi later. And you can see just behind him, the green flag of Islam, of this particular Sufi sect. More on that next time. And the next picture please.

And some Shia, in Jerusalem, during the festival of of Ashura, which commemorates the martyrdom, of some of the earliest of the Shia minority, Shia martyrs, in what is now current day Iraq and Iran, mainly in Iraq, Karbala, Najaf, and other such places. More on that next time. And I believe the final picture? No, not yet. The gypsy community of the old city. I’m going to talk about those next time, because the Muslim gipsies of Jerusalem, were a whole group of people, that came to Jerusalem in the 19th century. And they live in a sub-quarter near Burj al Luq Luq, which is a sub-quarter of the Muslim quarter, right up in the northwest corner of the old city. And the next picture. Which is indeed the final picture. Which I thought was adorable. These were Indonesian Muslims, on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, in 2004 again. And this little boy looking out on the camera, not concentrating on his prayers, but it was an irresistible picture. So I thank you very much. We have question time. Fire away. I’m going to go on to Q&A, so I can see the questions coming in. I’m going to don my glasses, and here we go.

Q&A and Comments:

Thank you. And Chag Sameach to you too. And good to see lots of familiar names, now coming in. Looks like the Guggenheim. I’m not sure what you were referring to, when you were talking about the Guggenheim. If you can clarify that, I’d be interested, Monica, in what you mean by that. I know the Guggenheim, but I’m not sure what you were comparing it to.

Q: Is the Kaaba stone a meteorite, that is contained in that black box?

A: Yes, thought to be a meteorite. That is what it’s thought to be. Difficult to get- Well, you can get close, but difficult to- you can’t really take samples. So this is not a thing you would wish to do, if you wanted to get out of Mecca alive. So the answer is yes, it is indeed thought to be a meteorite. The key thing about the stone in the Kaaba, is that Muhammad rededicated the Kaaba to monotheistic worship, in a dramatic act, where he took this miraculous black stone, placed it in the corner of the Kaaba, southwestern corner, is it, I believe? My memory might be going here. I think it’s either southwestern or southeastern corner. And that act of dedication, was a moment of massively high electric emotion, when Mecca had fallen. The Kaaba had fallen. Muhammad had rededicated it to Islamic worship, in the one God. And that black stone made the point.

Q: Do Sharia and Sunni derive from the Ummads and the Abbasids?

A: Well, yeah, the Shia derive from the descendants of Ali, who was the fourth Caliph of Islam, and the Sunni- So, they derived- So the key thing about the Shia, is that it was a bloodline. The Shia wanted to keep a bloodline, from the prophet Muhammad, down in Islam. Whereas the Sunni wanted to make the Caliphs, those who were most suitable. So they didn’t want to necessarily keep it within a holy family. I hope that partly answers…

Q: If it is halachically not allowed to step onto the Temple Mount, until the temple is rebuilt, who will rebuild the temple?

A: I’m not a rabbi. I think you’d have to put that to a rabbi, and a rabbi who is a Pesach Halacha, who can actually make rulings over these things. That said, Maimonides writes a tremendous amount about this, and lots of others do. So I’m sure, that the answers are out there.

Q: Right, what is the significance of the 28?

A: Well, according no, I didn’t mention that, Roz. The significance of the 28, is that one tradition, is that the number of satanic verses, that there were, were 28. There are other traditions as well, but one of the traditions, is that there were 28 satanic verses, which were first chanted towards Muhammad, when he got off Al-Buraq to ascend to heaven. And Satan tried to trick him, into including certain verses, from Satan into his holy writings, in what subsequently became known as the Quran, and the Hadith. But Muhammad was able to tell. He was able to tell what these satanic verses were, and he threw them out. Now the throwing out of those verses was said to have occurred, at that very spot, where he was about to rise to heaven from Jerusalem.

Q: Do you see how important Jerusalem is emerging, in that Islamic consciousness?

A: There’s so many things, were said to have happened at that spot in Jerusalem, on those steps, and so on. So those steps, and those holes, and the distance of the mosque of Omar, near the Holy Sepulchre all relate to that key number 28.

Q: Who decides who is to carry out the repairs on the walls?

A: Monica, massive question. The answer is, it’s all a bit bit of a mess. Everything takes negotiations, everything takes a long time. The Waqf controls the area on top of the Temple Mount. That said, if there are emergencies, or security concerns, then the Israelis have the last word. That said, the Hashemite Kingdom also has a say. So it’s all a very delicate dance, as to who carries out repairs on the walls, and repairs seldom occur, without there being arguments and discussions, and debates, and often disputes, which lead to conflicts, which lead to deaths, and riots and deaths. So the answer is, it’s a multiple decision, taken by multiple parties, normally taking years, rather like repairs within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. More on that in future weeks.

My pleasure, Elena. And moving down, sorry, just going down here. Sorry.

Q: Yes, Ralph. Is it true that one will never find images of humans or other animals in the mosques?

A: Secondly is the rock of a very hard form, and lacking in limestone elements. Goodness, I’m not a geologist. I don’t know whether it’s limestone, it is very hard form. That I can tell you. But there are holes bored into it. Nobody knows what these holes were for sure. But those holes connect the little cave underneath, with the top of the rock. One theory is that those holes is where the blood from the sacrifices, will drip through. I don’t know, they might be, well post Second Temple, I don’t know. But I’m not sure about limestone elements. And as far as images of humans, or other animals are concerned, yes, in the main, but some of the early Shia mosques in Iran and in Iraq, and in some places in Pakistan and Sudan, that I’ve been to, do have animal images on. I’ve never seen human images. but Sunni mosques, nothing of either. And that’s the vast majority of mosques in the world.

Q: Is there acceptance of the importance of Jerusalem to Jews among Muslims? Is there acceptance of the importance of Jerusalem to Jews among Muslims, particularly those who are the most orthodox, or devout Muslims?

A: Ooh, difficult question. On paper, yes. But it has all become so political now, that acceptance- That if Muslims publicly accept, that Jerusalem is important to Jews, then Muslims feel that, that then inhibits their claim on Jerusalem. So it’s all been incredibly politicised, since the advent of Zionism, and particularly the state of Israel. And I’m not saying that as a judgement on Zionism, or otherwise. It has become more, and more, and more political as the decades have moved on. On saying all that, on paper, Muslims always recognise, that Jerusalem was a holy Jewish city. And they all, they recognise that Ibrahim- That Judaism is the original monotheistic faith. But it’s all become very, very messy, politically-wise now. So the answer will be, to you Ron, a massively complex question. A wonderful question. And yes and no, in answer to it. There’s no such-

Q: So there’s question here from Erica. Are the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Shrine of the rock, one and the same thing?

A: No. The Al-Aqsa mosque is at the southern end of the Temple Mount, with the silver dome. The Dome of the Rock, is the middle of the Temple Mount, with the golden dome. So the distance from one to the other, what would it be? I would say 300 metres, 350 metres thereabouts. 28 might well be tied to lunar month, as well. Excellent theory.

Oh, and Wanda? I like… Yes, I, ah yes. I like when we can see the questions. Great idea. I think that might be over to the host, maybe for future talks, if the questions can be seen, maybe, maybe not, I’m not quite sure how that is managed.

I believe I’ve got to the bottom of the questions. It’s coming up to 8:30. Happy to take any more questions if you wish. If not, it’s part two next week for Islam. And that’s going to be lots of pictures of people. 'Cause today was in the main, pictures of buildings. Next week is the Muslims, that occupy, and love and rejoice over, and fight over, the buildings that you’ve seen today.

So if there’s no more questions… I don’t believe there are. I’d like to wish you all a good evening, and a good week and see you next week. Thank you.