One of the most sacred and famous buildings in the world is in the city of Jerusalem. It is the Mosque of Omar, which is also known as the Dome of the Rock.
This religious shrine, with a dome 100 feet high, was built in the 7th century, on the site of a number of Hebrew temples. Yet this shrine was built solely to house a rock!
According to Muslim belief, the prophet Muhammad was brought to Jerusalem on a winged horse and set down on the rock that is now inside the Mosque of Omar. The granite rock is 60 feet long and 40 feet wide, and completely fills the center of the building. Muslims believe that the hollows in the rock mark the spots where Muhammad’s horse landed.
The Dome of the Rock is also sacred to Jews, who believe that this rock was the place where the ancient Hebrew leader, Abraham, came to sacrifice his son, Isaac, to obey God’s command.
