Product Description

The Dome of the Rock, the beautiful Muslim shrine in the walled Old City of Jerusalem, was fully restored to its original state in the last half-century. Thus, this structure, sited on the third holiest spot on earth for Muslims, is at once a product of the seventh century and almost entirely the work of our own times--a paradox in keeping with the complexities and contradictions of history and religion, architecture and ideology that define this site.

This book tells the story of the Dome of the Rock, from the first fateful decades of its creation--on the esplanade built in the fourth decade B.C.E. for the Second Jewish Temple--to its engulfment in the clashes of the Crusades and the short-lived Christianization of all of Jerusalem, to its modern acquisition of different and potent meanings for Muslim, Christian, and Jewish cultures.

Oleg Grabar's presentation combines what we know of the building with the views of past observers and with the broader historical, cultural, and aesthetic implications of the monument. Primarily it is as a work of art that the Dome of the Rock stands out from these pages, understood for the quality that allows it to transcend the constrictions of period and perhaps even those of faith and culture. Finally, Grabar grapples with the question this monumental work of art so eloquently poses: whether the pious requirements of a specific community can be reconciled with universal aesthetic values.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #462786 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

Review
This is a little gem. The Dome of the Rock, a Muslim shrine in Jerusalem, might serve as an emblem of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In this book Oleg Grabar, a Princeton University expert on Islamic art, considers the building first and foremost as an artistic masterpiece...Grabar points to some major themes with which the Dome has been associated: commemoration of the Creation and the expectation of the Creator's return to Earth, the travels and Ascension to heaven of the Prophet Muhammad, the triumph over Christians and Jews in the holy city of Jerusalem, and the anticipation of Paradise...Grabar outlines a case for considering the Dome of the Rock as a valuable part of the global artistic heritage of all humanity, aside from its sacred functions. It forms part of the third most holy site in Islam, after Mecca and Medina, and entry is barred to non-Muslims. But this learned virtual tour of the Dome of the Rock is accessible to all of us.
--Andrew Bonnell (Courier Mail )

In this slender and synthetic volume, the old master has returned once again to his first love, trying to distill a century or more of scholarship into an entertaining and readable...book. It is aimed not at his usual scholarly audience, but at the few hardy--and all armchair--travelers to Jerusalem who wish to learn more about its most prominent building...Oleg Grabar shows not only how long and deep is Islam's association with Judaism and Christianity, but also how Islam and its great contributions to world civilization have evolved and changed over time.
--Jonathan Bloom (Times Literary Supplement )

About the Author
Oleg Grabar is Professor Emeritus of Islamic Art and Architecture at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey.

Customer Reviews

Temple Mount al- Sharif Jerusalem
CAUTION: There are 3 different books with the same title by the same authors, but with different re-write contents in different years. All discuss the "Dome of the Rock" or the "Al-Haram al-Sharif" hilltop in Jerusalem. [Atop this rock is where Jews believe their now-destroyed Second Temple was located; where Christians await the building of the Third Temple to enhance the return of Jesus; and is from where the Muslim Prophet Mohammad ascended into Heaven to talk with Allah before returning upon his flying-horse al-Buraq to Medina.] #1 (Sept. 1996): "The Dome of the Rock" by Said Nuseibeh AND Oleg Grabar. [Nuseibeh was the photographer, translator and writer, with co-author Grabar adding valuable commentary regarding the architecture of the dome.] It is the large "coffee table" size: 9.6"x12", hardback with 175 pages; Rizzoli publisher; {ISBN-10: 08-47819426} $60 new, $35 used. This book provides countless photographs of every ornately tiled wall and crook-and-cranny niche within this octagon-shaped building, and is the first one that I have seen that translates the extensive Arabic inscriptions contained inside the dome. How should Christians view this inscription in the Dome: "So believe in God and all the messengers, And stop talking about a Trinity. Cease in your own best interests! Verily God is the God of unity. Lord Almighty! That God would beget a child? Either in the Heavens or on the Earth?" (p.107) [Muslims don't believe in the concept of the Christian "Holy Trinity"; and maintain that while Jesus was actually a MUSLIM prophet, he was not the "son" of God and therefore not divine.] Also, this is the only book I've found that has a very detailed bird's-eye view of the top of the entire Haram al-Sharif complex, and depicts where about 65 different shrines, stairs, gates, and domes are located. #2 (Jan. 1997): "Le Dome du Rocher" by Said Nuseibeh and Oleg Grabar; hardback same as #1 but in French. #3 (Oct. 2006): "The Dome of the Rock" by only Oleg Grabar. It is medium-size: 6"x8", hardback with 234 pages; specialty Belknop Press of Harvard University Press; Cambridge, Mass.; printed in Canada; {ISBN-10: 0-674-02313-7} $25 new; $13 used. This is NOT a smaller reprint of #1; it is a totally different re-write! It has perhaps only 5% of the photographs contained in #1, but does provide several new site maps along with new analysis. #4 (Aug. 1985): "Dome of the Rock" (in 'Wonders of Man' series) by Jerry Landay; 160 pgs; Newsweek Books {ISBN-10: 0882250183 or 088225019-1}. As related items you should review: (a) "Secrets of Jerusalem's Temple Mount" by Leen Ritmeyer {ISBN-10:188-031-752-4}; a study of the architectural history of the building of various temples atop the Temple Mount; and (b) "The End of Days" by Gershom Gorenberg {ISBN-10: 0-684-87179-3}; an analysis of the religious and political struggles between Jews, Christians and Muslims for control of the Temple Mount to accelerate the much-anticipated coming of the calamitous hells-a-poppin "End of Times."