Jerusalem El Aqsa Mosque, Israel - Mosque

Mosque

The El-Aqsa Mosque (Masjid el-Aqsa) in Jeruslaem and its supplementary buildings, the Museum of Islamic Art by the Moroccans' Gate and the prayer halls for women, engage most of the south side of the Haram esh-Sherif. Its prayer niche (mihrab) faces south, in the direction of Mecca. The mosque was erected by the Omayyad Caliph El-Walid I (705-715) on the site of Justinian's cathedral devoted to the Mother of God. The Crusaders took it for Solomon's Temple, and the Jews call it Solomon's School (Midrash Shelomo). The mosque (excluding the supplementary buildings) is 260feet long by 180feet wide.