Jerusalem Obscured: The Crescent on the Temple: The Dome of the Rock as Image of the Ancient Jewish Sanctuary
To begin with, what is it? In order to answer this question one must, of course, qualify it by asking—to whom? Pamela Berger in The Crescent on the Temple: Dome Rock as Image Ancient Jewish Sanctuary has done a great service supplying us with history iconographic representation Jerusalem's (the Qubbat al-Sakhrah). While no publication could ever exhaustively summarize countless visual and literary portrayals world heritage site, not only makes valiant attempt at such but necessarily changes way that almost all scholars untrained alike look edifice present. images she examines are worth far more than thousand words. Various depictions holy site perched Mt. Moriah al-Haram al-Sharif (“the Noble Sanctuary”) found across Islamic homes public buildings, advertisements produced Israeli Ministry Tourism, memorabilia purchased pilgrims—make little understood extraordinarily beautiful structure most well-known planet. Rising above white marble once multicolored gold glass mosaic, its famous, now gold-covered captured attention those looking upon old city Jerusalem from several directions since end seventh century. Inside elaborate mosaics, largest preserved set before twelfth century anywhere area surrounding Mediterranean Sea, provide glorious ring around sacred rock cave. Frankly, consideration long Berger's work representation, review author doesn't even know where begin.
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