The Temple Mount is the site of the first and second Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. Currently this is the location of two major Muslim religious shrines, the Dome of the Rock (gold domed building from the view of Jerusalem) and Al-Aqsa Mosque. This is the holiest site in Judaism, the third holiest site in Islam, and has special significance in Christianity. This is also known as Mt. Moriah, and together with the City of David, both locations together are known as Mt. Zion.
The first Temple was completed by Solomon c. 950 B.C., stood for 410 years and was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The second Temple started after 70 years of exile in Babylon, and that one was destroyed by Titus in 70 A.D. Only a small portion of the Western Wall remains.
In the picture above, the area at the very bottom of the picture is the female side. On the other side of the short wall (top of the picture) is the Male side. This is Thursday so there are Bar Mitzvah celebrations going on. The women are looking over the wall at family to see the boys reading the torah and throwing candy to them. The actual Western Wall is on the far right.
Every Israeli is required to serve in the military, with only very few exceptions or delays, right out of high school. Males serve three years and females serve two. These are some IDF soldiers serving at the Temple Mount.
Behind the Western Wall there are many tunnels that remain. While the accessible Western Wall is what remains of the exterior wall of the Temple, the tunnel behind that wall is on the interior… and a more precious location for prayer since it is closer to the original location of the Altar… the Holy of Holys. The tunnels run the length of the entire wall.
You won’t see any pictures of the Dome of the Rock here except this one. This is the far right fresco/ mural on the building as you come up the main steps (below).
Yad Vashem – this is the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem. It is an extensive memorial to the six million who died during this awful massacre. The archive collection here is the largest and most comprehensive in the world. In the news recently (June, 2019), it was released that the Dutch Railway set up a committee to achnowledge their role during World War II. There is an open proposal on how to compensate survivors, victims, and their families.
