Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1881-09-01
A SACRED SPOT.
Something About the Holy Rock at
Jerusalem.

Something About the Holy Rock al
Jerusalem.
a correspondent thus writes to the
editor of the London Times:
Referring to your notice in last
Mondays Review of the Royal acade.
my exhibition of Mr.. Carl Haag's
water-color drawing, "The Holy Rock
Jerusalem" think it might interest
some OF your readers to hear the histo.
ry of its execution and certain partic.
ulars connected with the spot depict
ed.
Since the holy rock, which occupies
the centre of the area of what is popu.
larly known as the Mosque of Omar
is after the kaaba at Mecca the most
venerated spot connected with the Mo
hammedan religion, the difficulty OF
obtaining drawing of it is proportion.
ately great. The interior of the Mosque
has, believe, never been painted be.
fore. Mr.. Carl Haag could not obtain
entrance into it only by special fir.
man of the sultan, granted him at the
request of her majesty the queen, and
though constantly attended by guards
ran imminent risk of losing his life
Never before had any artist dared to
plant his easel on the sacred spot. The
painting was begun and completed in
the mosque. The measurements gwen
below were kindly furnished by Mr.
Haag, and were taken by himself with
great care.
According to immemorial tradition,
the holy rock is the thrashing floor, on
Mount MOriah, of Araunah, or Omar
the Jebusite chief, which David bou. !ii
OF him for place of sacrifice, AL.
where Solomon afterward erected tn,
temple. There is much in support of
this tradition. The rock is the highest
part of the temple platform. Through
out Syria rock plateaus of high eleva-
ton are at the present day selected for
thrashing floors; and the higher and
more exposed the site the more valua-
ble is it for the purpose, as the wind
needful for driving off the chaff can
play upon it from a greater number of
quarters.
The lofty situation of the sakhrah,
or holy rock, would have made a most
valuable thrashing floor. Immediately
beneath it is a natural cave, fact
which also lends support to the cor
rectness of the tradition, since under
meath the majority of the thrashing
floors of Palestine are similar caves.
which abound in the limestone hills
of the country, and afford to the labor
ers an invaluable retreat during the
burning midday hours. In configura-
tion, the rock, as it juts up above the
marble pavement of the mosque, is very
irregular. From north to south it
measures SO feet, and from east to
west it is IS feet. The highest point
is st feet above the floor.
On the top of the rock, which can
only be seen by climbing upon the rail-
ing surrounding it, is a rough, BASIN
shaped following, and also hole about
three feet in diameter. This commu-
nicates perpendicularly with the cave
beneath. Descending into the cave
from the southeastern corner of the
by flight of fifteen steps, we
find chamber 23a feet from north to
south and 23f feet from east to west.
AT the end and on the two sides of the
cave low stone walls have been built of
height varying irregularly with the
slope of the rock which forms the roof.
Two lamps, suspended beneath the
hole already mentioned, light the cave.
On the tessellated pavement of the
floor, and directly beneath the hole in
the roof, is radiating star in various
colOred marbles. On tapping this, the
central part, consisting of a slab of
white marble, not quite perpendicular
ly beneath the centre of the orifice
above, is found to be hollow. The slab
conceals the Bir-el-Arruah, or "Well of
Spirits" passage said to lead out
into the valley of the Kid
ron.
A hypothesis not unreasonable is
that the hole on the top of the holy
rock was made to conduct the blood of
the sacrificed victims slain upon it in
Jewish times down into the cavern.
thence to the Bir-el-Arruah, and event
uaily into the Kidron near Sloan. If
the sakhrah is really the spot where
the Jewish sacrifices were made. the
holy place of the temple must have
stood Immediately to the west of it,
facing that side of the stone which is
to the right and i'm shadow to Mr..
Haag's painting.
The promise made by Jehova to Sol
ONION, "Mine ear shall be attent unto
the prayer that is made in this place" ("
gives the rock its present sanctity for
the MOhammedanS. They guard it
from the approach of any but Moslem,
lest supplication for evil on themselves
or on their religion should be made in
such place. The profound interest
of the rock, if the tradition concerning
it is correct, hardly needs to be dweit
on.
Mr.. Haag's view is taken from the
northwest pier of the four supporting
the noble dome, which rises to height
of 100 feet, roughly estimated, and has
a diameter of 66 feet. On the left of
the picture can be seen the double cor
ridor (the inner corridor 232 feet wide,
the outer 131 feet) which surrounds the
building, and is lighted by stained
glass windows. To the right, and
somewhat in the background, is seen
the small, tall, baldachin which stands
over the southwest corner of the rock.
For Mohammedans this is the point of
greatest interest. At this point alone
are they allowed to touch the holy
stone. Thrusting their hands through
a small circular opening on the west
side of this structure they can tell if
not see, an indentation in the rock.
That mark the faithful believe to have
been made by the foot of the prophet,
when with the other foot already in
the stirrup of the white celestial steed
sent to bear him hence, he for the last
time pressed upon the soil
OF this dim spot
Which men call earth.
This jealously-guarded, mysterious
holy rock, with its proud traditions,
extending so far back in the past, is
alike for the Mohammedan, Jewish,
and Christian world, one of the most