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The Dome of the Rock is a mosque. To enter the mosque you must take your shoes off and leave your camera bag behind. Once inside, the pavement is flat, and the atmosphere of the courtyard is peaceful-it's easy to forget that you're in a city full of many quarrels.

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Caliph Abd al-Malik built the Dome of the Rock. He decorated it with brilliant blue, tiled mosaics on the outside. The Dome itself was first covered with pure gold. Nowadays, it's just as bright, but made of aluminum. It shines in the setting sun as a strong symbol of Islam's place in Jerusalem.

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Look at the Dome of the Rock today as an example of how the holy sites form a challenge to making peace in the region. The Dome is located in Jerusalem, which as a holy city and a capital, is the subject of much controversial debate.

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The Dome of the Rock is central to the faiths of both Muslims and Jews. So who should own it? To whom does it belong? Should you base such a decision on how long someone has had control of the area? On how many believe in a particular faith? Or are these not the right questions to be asked of something that is neither secular nor political, but religious? Complex questions, aren't they? Continue to search more and learn more: some questions are very difficult to answer.

-Monica

 
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