So we started off learning about the events of the Jewish temple and again explain how Jerusalem was considered a sacred city to millions. A brief history of Mt. Zion left us with important dates and biblical references. The temples were built with any design as long as one mentions that God directed how the temple should look. Talks about how Jerusalem coming down from Heaven upon the rock brings up another example of Jerusalem as the axis mundi.
Jerusalem is the axis mundi of the old world to millions of people and probably is still the center of the world today. In class we discussed how it was the contact point between heaven and hell. Being on top of a hill, Jerusalem is closer to God than any other place (even though there were other mountains near it that were higher, Jerusalem is higher in a spiritual sense). The hell entry point (usually caves back in the day) could be the souther part of the city, in the valley of Hinnom. Hinnom valley was Jerusalem's garbage pit and stuff was burned there emitting smells and sulfur. So in that sense it's like a hell.
Lecture was pretty interesting that day and we were shown how Jerusalem borrows concepts from other traditions and incorporates them into itself. Like how the Dome of the Rock is the burial site of Adam.
Random Note #3:
The key to the Holy Sepulcher Church is in the possession of a Muslim family.
Things to remember:
o 691 CE – completed by Abd al-Malik
o 1099 CE – crusaders conquer Jerusalem and convert Dome of the Rock into a church
o 1187 CE – Saladin re-conquers Jerusalem
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