Al-Aqsa Mosque
— — a silver dome the morning finds first.
Not only on a wall.
“Al-Aqsa Mosque sits at the southern end of the walled compound known as the Haram al-Sharif, the same hilltop the Old City has held under different names for three thousand years. The building is long and low, capped by a lead-grey dome that catches the early light before the gold one beside it does. Olive trees line the courtyard. Birds work the stone in the cooler hours. The call to prayer carries a long way over the limestone.
Al-Aqsa Mosque, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
The place, in three passes.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is the congregational mosque at the southern end of the 14-hectare walled compound Muslims call the Haram al-Sharif, the Noble Sanctuary, and Jews call the Temple Mount. It is one of the oldest mosques in the world and is regarded as the third holiest site in Islam, after the Sacred Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina. The building has a lead-covered dome distinct from the gilded Dome of the Rock that stands at the centre of the same compound. Capacity inside the prayer hall is roughly 5,000.
The first congregational building on the site was raised around 705 CE under the Umayyad caliph al-Walid I, replacing an earlier modest prayer house from the reign of Umar. Earthquakes in 746 and 1033 brought parts of the building down; the Fatimid caliph al-Zahir rebuilt the central nave to most of its present plan in 1035. The exterior is the warm-cream Jerusalem limestone the rest of the Old City wears, the dome above it sheathed in dark lead, the interior carrying mosaics, marble columns, and a minbar tradition stretching back centuries.
Entry to the Haram al-Sharif compound is controlled at several gates around the Old City wall. Non-Muslim visitors are typically permitted to enter the open compound during specified morning and afternoon windows, most often via the Mughrabi Gate beside the Western Wall plaza, but are not admitted inside the mosque buildings themselves. Hours, access, and security conditions vary day to day and are frequently restricted on Fridays, Islamic holidays, and during periods of unrest. Modest dress is required throughout; shoulders, knees, and for women hair should be covered.