Al-Aqsa Part II

 And we're back. 

There are two more major sites in the Aqsa compound that I'll mention. 

Bab-ar-Rahmah Musallah

Bab-ar-Rahmah or "The Gate of Mercy" refers to a gate through the Eastern Wall of the compound that is now permanently sealed with stone and mortar. It was sealed by Muslim rulers to prevent traffic through the cemetery outside, but also as protection. The Crusaders opened it up briefly, but Salahuddin had it sealed again. 

This door is significant in Christian tradition because it is the door through which Jesus entered the Temple on Palm Sunday, but it is also considered to be the door through which Jesus will enter in the Second Coming. 

I watched a video of a Christian guy explaining this standing in front of the gate and then look dramatically into the camera and say, "but some people *cough cough* want to seal up this door to prevent the arrival of Jesus but this door will crack straight through the middle and Jesus shall arrive." 

I had to giggle. It wouldn't occur to a Muslim that a door could prevent a returning Jesus, even a sealed door. 

Outside the compound, against this wall is the Muslim cemetery called the (what else?) Bab-ar-Rahmah cemetery.  It actually directly faces the Jewish cemetery on Mount of Olives right across the way. They would eventually meet if there wasn't a road in the middle. 

There are two especially notable people of interest buried here. They are companions of the Prophet Muhammad (similar to the apostles/hawaariyoon of Jesus) and traveled here after Jerusalem came under Muslim rule under Caliph Omar. These companions are Shaddad ibn Aws (grave pictured below) and Ubadah ibn-al-Samit (I didn't take a picture.) 

So the cemetery is outside Bab-ar-Rahmah which you can't enter through because it's sealed, so you have to walk around. (Those two stone arches would have been the open gate.) Inside is the Bab-ar-Rahmah Musallah (down those stairs). (Musallah=prayer hall.)

Sixteen years ago, Israeli security shut down the musallah for prayer contending that illegitimate political parties were using it for unsavory activity. It has been closed for sixteen consecutive years since then except during Ramadan. This causes protest every year and security has gone as far as to cut electricity inside and stop renovation. (Those moldering carpets.) 

Normally, anyone within a certain distance of the musallah is arrested, but again we got lucky and it being Ramadan, we were able to go inside. It's actually really small. I don't know if it can hold more than a hundred people.

There's a hastily cobbled pantry put together during Ramadan for the people who stay for night prayers and need to eat breakfast in the morning.

Alright, moving on. 

Masjid al-Buraq and the Buraq Wall

The side of this wall that is facing inside the Aqsa compound is referred to as the Buraq Wall. Muslims commemorate this as where Prophet Muhammad entered the city of Jerusalem from and it symbolizes where he tied the heavenly steed provided to him by Angel Gabriel. This steed's name is Buraq and is the animal which many prophets previous to Muhammad had ridden. 

There is a little mosque attached to this wall called the Masjid al-Buraq.

Our guide had one of our group members stand next to the now sealed gate from which Prophet Muhammad entered. The height of a man relative to the gate was one of many clues to the fact that there are many meters of building underneath the ground. 

This iron ring was installed by the Ottomans to signify where the Buraq might have been tied. 

So the side of the wall facing the inside of the compound is the Buraq Wall. The side of the wall facing the outside is the Western Wall! (Colloquially referred to as the Wailing Wall.) You might recognize that this is pure semantics. It's literally the same wall. Refer to my comments in the first post about how packed significance is in this city.

The gate leading out from the compound to the Western Wall is the Maghribi Gate or the Moroccan Gate that I mentioned in the last post. To reiterate, this gate is opened daily for Jewish and other visitors that are not Muslim and as such, Muslims are not permitted through this gate. 

By the way, I remember being held by security at a different gate one day and a non-Muslim guy waving his American passport at the solider holding me, asking if he could go in. She said no, not right now, come back later. So, maybe non-Muslims are not only limited to the Moroccan Gate? I don't know.

This is why anything I say should be taken with the understanding that the situation is always in flux. No two people ever have the same experience. No one person has the same experience every time.  

Our pretty large group indiscreetly heading over to the Buraq Masjid startled an increased and then gradually curious security presence at the Moroccan Gate since, this is a gate not used by Muslims. There were two guys when we went in and about six or seven when we came back out.

One last thing, about the Aqsa compound. During the time of the Ottomans, if a stone was repaired or replaced in the floor, it was marked by the masons with a carved crescent. Some are so old, they're worn into C's. I loved them. It's so whimsical.

Ok, we'll leave the Aqsa compound now and head to the Western Wall.