Al-Mawazin
{{Short description|Decorative archways in Al-Aqsa, Jerusalem}}
File:Al-Haram ash-Sharif. Temple mount. - 9033987228.jpg]]
Eight freestanding archways called al-Mawazin ({{small|see names below}}) are located at the top of the staircases leading to the platform (maṣṭaba) of the Dome of the Rock from the surrounding courtyard ({{transliteration|ar|ṣaḥn}}) below. Each archway consists of open arches supported by 2 to 4 columns, set between two pilasters.
One of the reasons mentioned for these doors is that the beauty of the Dome of the Rock should not appear right away, marking a separation between the city and the sacred place.guide bleu
Names
They are called {{transliteration|ar|mawāzīn}} ({{lang|ar|موازين}} {{literally|weighing scales}}, plural of {{transliteration|ar|mīzān}}, {{wikt-lang|ar|ميزان}}) because of a belief that scales will hang from these arches to weigh souls on Judgment Day.{{cite book |title=DK Eyewitness Travel Guide |date=2012 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-7566-9550-7 |pages=70–71 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tpdFVaMW3JwC&pg=PA70 |quote=a widely-accepted Muslim belief, on the day of the Last Judgment, the scales used by God to weigh the souls of humankind will be hung from these arches on the Haram.}}
They are also simply called {{transliteration|ar|qanaṭir}} ({{lang|ar|قناطر}}, {{literally|arches}}, plural of {{wikt-lang|ar|قنطرة}}), i.e., arcades or arched colonnades.
People also call them {{transliteration|ar|bā’ika}} ({{lang|ar|بائكة}}) and {{transliteration|ar|bawā’ik}} ({{lang|ar|بوائك}}) – also meaning "arcade".{{cite book |last1=رزق |first1=عاصم محمد |title=معجم مصطلحات العمارة والفنون الإسلامية |date=2000 |publisher=مكتبة مدبولى الصغير |isbn=978-977-208-259-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SNyfAAAAMAAJ |language=ar |quote={{lang|ar|بائكة}} arcade}}{{cite book |last1=ديماند |first1=م س |title=الفنون الإسلامية |date=2018 |publisher=وكاله الصحافه العربيه |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0t5aDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT175 |language=ar |quote= Arcades {{lang|ar|بوائك}}}}
Dates of construction
With the exception of the arcades bearing inscriptions which attest that they date back to the Mamluk period, the others probably predate the Crusades, but their dating is difficult. However, it is very likely that some Mawâzim date back to the period of the construction of the Dome of the Rock and that they were an integral part of its initial construction plan. In particular, it is thought that the four arcades facing the four entrances were built at the same time as the dome.{{Cite journal |last=Gonzalez-Quijano |first=Yves |date=2010-09-01 |title=Jérusalem, capitale " éternelle et indivisible " de la culture arabe? |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4000/mediterranee.4488 |journal=Méditerranée |issue=114 |pages=131–133 |doi=10.4000/mediterranee.4488 |issn=0025-8296}}
Gallery
Al-Haram ash-Sharif. Temple mount. - 9033987228.jpg | The southeastern colonnade (background: Dome of the Rock)
Dome of the rock (89060).jpg | The southwestern colonnade (foreground: Dome of the Spirits)
Jerusalem-2013-Temple Mount-View sky fixed.jpg | The northwestern colonnade
כנסיית מריה מגדלנה במבט מהר הבית.JPG | The eastern colonnade (background: Church of Mary Magdalene)
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline}}
{{Temple Mount}}
{{Jerusalem Old City}}
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Category:Religion in Jerusalem
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