....on the Temple Mount, Jerusalem. The beauty of design and color is more apparent than the difficulty of constructing this large building, originally covered with mosaics, with its 100-foot-high dome. From the Seventh Century until about the Thirteenth, Islamic Civilization was probably the premier culture on earth.

       A closer view reveals the wonderfully-crafted blue tiles which lend the unique color and quality of this mosque. It also gives a better perspective on the size of the building and an appreciation for the technical difficulties of spanning that large space (65 ft.) with a dome -- abilities which the west would not regain for centuries.

       When it was built, there were very few, or no, structures of this size with exterior mosaics for decoration. The Dome of the Rock has dominated the Jerusalem skyline for a long time. More on the Dome