Masjid Al-Aqsa

The al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, described by al-Maqdisi as an eyewitness. Its covered hall lies at the eastern corner of Jerusalem, toward the qibla. ²

Al-Maqdisi says its foundation was the work of David, with large carved stones. Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan built on it with smaller, fine stones, and it was finer than the mosque of Damascus. ²

An earthquake in the Abbasid period brought down the covered hall, except for the area around the mihrab. The caliph was told that the treasury of the Muslims could not pay for rebuilding, so he wrote to the governors of the provinces asking each to build one colonnade. They built them sturdier and of heavier workmanship than before, and that section remained as a mark on the mosque. Abd Allah ibn Tahir added fifteen colonnades on marble columns. ²

The covered hall has twenty-six doors, the greatest of which is the Bronze Gate, plated with gilded brass. Its courtyard has a raised platform reached by steps from all four sides, with the domes of the Chain, the Ascension and the Prophet. ²

The mosque measures a thousand cubits in length by the king's cubit and seven hundred in width. Its covered hall does not join the eastern wall, which is why it was said that a full row can never be completed in it. ²

An additional source is needed for the names and architectural details in other sources. The museum's record cites the book "The Umayyad State from Birth to Fall" without page numbers. ³