Al-Aqsa Mosque

Jerusalem, Palestine

Open to visitors

The interior is normally open, possibly ticketed.

Strollie cannot guarantee access — always check before you travel.

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The Al-Aqsa Mosque is the main congregational prayer hall within the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, standing 37 meters high. Built in Islamic architectural style, the current structure originated under the Umayyad caliphate in the early eighth century, constructed by either the caliph Abd al-Malik (r. 685–705) or his successor al-Walid I (r. 705–715) on the south wall of the compound, aligned with the Dome of the Rock. Damaged by earthquakes in 746 and 1033, it was rebuilt by successive Islamic dynasties—first by the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur in 758 and expanded by al-Mahdi in 780 to include fifteen aisles and a central dome. The Fatimid caliph al-Zahir (r. 1021–1036) reconstructed it following the 1033 earthquake, reducing it to seven aisles while adding an elaborate central archway with vegetal mosaics; this eleventh-century configuration defines the current structure. After the Crusaders seized it in 1099 and repurposed it as a palace and Templar headquarters, Saladin's conquest in 1187 restored its religious function. The mosque remains a UNESCO World Heritage Site.