That First Sight and More ... Part 1/2

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

Assalamualaikum warahmatuLLah wabarakatuh

Alhamdulillah syukur ... for the many lessons learned and shared from the ziarah …

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The following illustrations and maps of the various sites from google map will help visualise part of Baitul Maqdis (also known as Al Quds, Jerusalem, The Holy Land, East Jerusalem, The Old City, The Walled City ...)

 The sight that beheld our hearts.

It was cloudy as we entered Baitul Maqdis (in this city you would hear it referred to as Jerusalem only). Approaching it from behind the mountains from Amman to King Hussein-Allenby Bridge and through Jericho (Arabic-Ariha), this was the view that welcomed us as we approach the Blessed Land.
This photo was taken by my sister, Andah from the bus. 

She was seated on the left side of the bus. So try to sit on this side when entering The Holy City :)

Two three snaps ... 

and the view was very quickly hidden from us as we moved on ...

  a better perspective from Google ... (click on the image for a better view)

Notice the wall running through the middle of the picture ...
This wall was built and rebuilt during the many different reigns including those of the Mamluk's (of Egypt) and Ottoman reigns to protect the City against intrusions and invaders. We entered Baitul Maqdis (Jerusalem) and reached the Haram Al Sharif (Dome of The Rock and Masjid Al Aqsa) from this side of the City.
Our Hotel was just a few minutes walk from one of the Gates.

still a camera ...  a mechanical tool can only capture so much ... here's a googled view on a bright glamorous day ...

The Dome of the Rock 

(Arabic: مسجد قبة الصخرة‎, translit.: Masjid Qubbat As-Sakhrah)

A mosque was built over the location where Rasullullah Prophet Muhammad SAW was raised to heaven on the night of Isra' wal Mikraj. We entered the vast courtyard of The Haram from the north door and we passed by The Dome of The Rock which was situated at a higher level, went down the stone steps and on towards Masjid Al Aqsa. 

InsyaAllah I will describe the internal details of both Masjid Qubbat As Sakhrahh and Masjid Al Aqsa in separate entries ... InsyaAllah.

 

Notice the palm tree and the others are olive trees - just completed its harvest season during our visit.

 (image source ... google)

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Masjid Al Aqsa 

... viewed from the east. The Black Dome is at the south most of the Mosque where the Imam leads solat ... remember that Makkah al Mukarramah, hence the Kiblat, is to the south. We entered from the right of the picture where the trees are - from the north that is. You will not be able to view the Black Dome when standing in front of the Masjid. The dome is covered in lead, hence its black colour.

(image source ... google)

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Entrance to the Masjid Al Aqsa. 

The Black Dome of the Masjid is right to the back (south most) and is not visible from this position. Imagine that you are the photographer. If you turn around and face north, immediately your line of sight will fall upon the Golden Dome of the Rock.

(image source ... google)

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What i wanted to do was to provide an overview of the routes and sites in the Holy City but blogger.com is having trouble uploading ... to get around the problem my approach now is to upload the posting in bits and pieces. I hope the elaboration will encourage us to make plan for a ziarah soon...

InsyaAllah

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That First Sight and More ... Part 2/2