The Dome of the Rock from ground level

An uncaptioned black and white landscape photograph of the Dome of the Rock [Qubbat aṣ-Ṣaḫra] in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. The dome is visible on top of a circular drum lined with windows. The octagonal arcade beneath is mostly obscured due to the position the photograph has been taken from but three of its sides are partially visible. The building is in the background of the image, which has been taken from ground level. A
high stone wall surrounds the shrine. To the extreme right of the image is an entrance with stairs leading up to five columns linked by arches. The same entrance is visible on the extreme left of the image. In front of the mosque, closer to the camera, is a low walled courtyard with what are likely to be olive
trees which are partially obscuring another structure. In the foreground and to the left of the image is a tall dark tree which partially obscures one corner of the complex. Closest to the camera is a grassy field with a section of white paving stones and in the bottom-right corner of the image is a blurred figure facing away from the building.

The Dome of the Rock represents the oldest extant example of Islamic architecture, having been built during the Umayyad Caliphate in 691-692 CE and was originally influenced by Byzantine churches and palaces. Its exterior underwent dramatic change under the Ottomans who added
blue and white (Iznik-style) tiles. During 1959 to 1962, the dome was covered in gold leaf, later refurbished following a donation from King Hussein of Jordan in 1993.

The Al-Aqsa mosque is considered the third holiest site among both Shia and Sunni Muslims and the Dome of the Rock contains the earliest inscriptions proclaiming Islam and the prophet Muhammad.