The Mosque of Omar: history and "close relatives"

It's no secret that Jerusalem, this place is the focus of the holy places of many religions, especially the Abrahamic - Judaism, Christianity and Islam. One of such places of pilgrimage is the famous mosque of Omar, which will be discussed in this article.

Famous mosque

The glory of this Muslim shrine is associated with the name of the caliph, in memory of which it was built. In addition, it is often confused with another building. It's about the Al-Aqsa Mosque. In addition, sometimes it is even called the Dome of the Rock, which is completely wrong.

Where is the mosque of Omar

In order not to create confusion, we must immediately say about where the shrine, about which we are speaking, is located. The mosque of Omar is located in the heart of the Christian quarter of the so-called old city - the historical part of Jerusalem. This is not accidental. The fact is that the Islamic armies that besieged the holy city in 637 received from Patriarch Sophronius an offer to take the city with the world. But he agreed to give the keys to Jerusalem only personally to the hands of Caliph Omar. The latter, when told of this, immediately departed from Medina to Jerusalem, accompanied by one servant, riding a donkey. Patriarch Sofrony met the Caliph and handed him the keys to the city, taking from him the promise that the Christian population would not be threatened. I show the head of the Islamic world and the new ruler the capital, he brought him to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where he offered to pray. Khalif Omar refused, arguing that he was a Muslim and if he prayed in this place, then thousands of other followers of the Prophet Muhammad will also do it, as a result of which Christians will be deprived of their sanctity. After this, as the legend says, the Caliph left the temple, threw a stone and began to pray where he fell. At this and that place was later built the mosque of Omar.

Construction of a mosque

Although this religious construction is named after the great caliph, it was built not with him. In fact, it was built only four and a half centuries after these events. More precisely, the Omar mosque, the photo of which you see below, was built in 1193 during the reign of Sultan Al-Afdal, who was the son of the notorious Saladin. The mosque was rebuilt several times and restored. Its characteristic square minaret, which is still elevated to fifteen meters high, was built even later - in 1465. Finally, the building acquired its modern appearance in the XIX century, when it underwent capital restoration. By the way, it is here that a copy of the treaty between Omar and Patriarch Sophrony is kept, in which the security of the Christian population under Islamic rulers is guaranteed. However, only Muslims can look at it, since adherents of other religions are not allowed to enter the mosque of Omar.

Al-Aqsa Mosque

Another building in Jerusalem, which is also unofficially associated with the name of Omar, is the Al-Aqsa Mosque. By the way, it has all the grounds for such a name, since, unlike the previous one, it was built exactly by the order of the caliph during his life and government of the city. That is why it is also called the Omar Mosque. It is located on the Temple Mount and after the Kaaba in Mecca and the mosque of Muhammad in Medina, is the third most important shrine of the Islamic world. Once it served as the Qiblah, that is, the symbolic center of the earth for Muslims. All Muslims turn to the Qiblah during prayer. Now as the Qibla is Mecca, more precisely Kaaba, which is located there. But before it was moved there, the Qiblah was installed exactly the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount.

According to the legend with the place where it stands, the night journey of Muhammad, described in the Qur'an, is connected. From the same place, as his followers believe, he was ascended to heaven, where he had a meeting with Allah, who opened to him the rules for the performance of prayer.

The very first building of this mosque was destroyed long ago. Then it was rebuilt many times, as it suffered from fires, earthquakes and just the passage of time. His modern plan was basically founded in the early 1970s under the Umayyads. During the time of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the mosque was converted partly to a Christian church, and partly to the office of Knights Templar.

Dome of a rock

The second temple, sometimes called the name of the caliph, is the Dome of the Rock. When it comes to the destruction of the mosque of Omar, then, as a rule, they are actually talking about this building. But this is a mistake. This building is also located on the Temple Mount, at its very top, where once stood the famous Jewish Temple. According to the Bible, the latter can be located only in this place, and therefore the followers of Judaism can not build it until the Dome of the Rock is demolished. Of course, Muslims sacrificed their shrine, erected in 687-691, categorically disagree.

According to legend, in this place Abraham was preparing to sacrifice Isaac, King David set up the tabernacle, and his son Solomon erected the Temple. This place is considered the center of the earth. A Dome of the Rock is the building that protects it. Inside, there really is a rock on which is located, as Muslims believe, the footprint of Mohammed and with which the creation of the world began. Outside the mosque is an octahedron, crowned with a huge golden dome. However, the building as a mosque does not function.