Al-Aqsa Mosque

The Al-Aqsa Mosque stands on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem and is regarded as the third holiest mosque in Islam after those in Mecca and Medina. Completed in 710 CE under Umayyad Caliph al-Walid I, it was built on a plateau sacred to three Abrahamic faiths simultaneously — known to Jews as the Temple Mount, to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif. The mosque has been destroyed and rebuilt multiple times, notably after the earthquake of 749; during the Crusader period it served briefly as a royal palace and armory before returning to Muslim worship. Four minarets punctuate the sprawling compound, which has been part of the UNESCO-listed Jerusalem Old City since 1981. Millions of Muslims make pilgrimage here each year, especially for Friday prayers during Ramadan, while the site remains one of the most geopolitically contested places on earth.