Temple Mount

Temple Mount
הַר הַבַּיִת, Har HaBayit الحرم الشريف, al-Ḥaram ash-Šarīf,
Aerial southern view of the Temple Mount
Highest point
Elevation	740 m (2,430 ft)
Coordinates	31°46′40.7″N 35°14′8.9″E / 31.777972°N 35.235806°E / 31.777972; 35.235806Coordinates: 31°46′40.7″N 35°14′8.9″E / 31.777972°N 35.235806°E / 31.777972; 35.235806
Geography
Temple Mount Jerusalem
Parent range	Judean
Geology
Mountain type	Limestone

The Temple Mount (Hebrew: הַר הַבַּיִת‎‎, Har HaBáyit, "Mount of the House [of God, i.e. the Temple]"), known to Muslims as the Haram esh-Sharif (Arabic: الحرم الشريف‎‎, al-Ḥaram al-Šarīf, "the Noble Sanctuary", or الحرم القدسي الشريف, al-Ḥaram al-Qudsī al-Šarīf, "the Noble Sanctuary of Jerusalem"), a hill located in the Old City of Jerusalem, is one of the most important religious sites in the world. It has been venerated as a holy site for thousands of years by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The present site is dominated by three monumental structures from the early Umayyad period: the al-Aqsa Mosque, the Dome of the Rock and the Dome of the Chain, as well as four minarets. Herodian walls and gates with additions dating back to the late Byzantine and early Islamic periods cut through the flanks of the Mount. Currently it can be reached through eleven gates, ten reserved for Muslims and one for non-Muslims, with guard posts of Israeli police in the vicinity of each.

The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism, which regards it as the place where God's divine presence is manifested more than in any other place. According to the rabbinic sages whose debates produced the Talmud, it was from here the world expanded into its present form and where God gathered the dust used to create the first human, Adam.