Identify four of Jerusalem's holy sites. To which religion is each site sacred, and why is it considered important? Holy Sites of the Ancient City of Jerusalem
Jerusalem is one of the oldest cities in the world. People settled there about 3,000 BCE. The area has been occupied ever since. Today, Jerusalem is located in Israel. The city is a holy place for people of three world religions. There are many sites in the city that are important to the faiths of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity.

Temple Mount, the Dome of the Rock, and El Aqsa Mosque
Temple Mount—a large, walled, stone plaza on a hilltop—is one of the most important spiritual sites in Jerusalem. It is called Al-Haram al-Sharīf in Arabic, which is the language of Islam’s holy book called the Quran. Temple Mount is so large that hundreds of thousands of people can visit the site at the same time. This is important because Muslims (followers of Islam), Jews, and Christians all consider Temple Mount a holy place.
Muslims believe that this site is the place where Muhammad, the prophet and founder of Islam, ascended to heaven. The oldest existing Islamic monument, the Dome of the Rock shrine, was built on Temple Mount. The shrine is called Qubbat al-Ṣakhrah in Arabic. It was completed in 692 CE. The Al-Aqsa Mosque is also located on Temple Mount. This place of Muslim worship is the largest mosque in Jerusalem. Al-Aqsa can accommodate more than 4,000 worshippers at once. Muslims consider the entirety of Temple Mount a mosque. It is their third most important spiritual site, after Mecca and Medina.
The Dome of the Rock also marks an area important in the Jewish tradition. Jews believe that Abraham—the patriarch of the Hebrews—prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac at the site.
The First and Second Temples and the Western Wall
In Hebrew—the language of the Jewish holy book, the Torah—Temple Mount is called Har Ha-Bayit. To Jews, Temple Mount is the site of the First and Second Temples, Jewish places of worship in ancient Israel that were destroyed in conflicts. Parts of the walls that surround Temple Mount were built to support the Second Temple. The Western Wall, which is also called the Wailing Wall or the Kotel, is one of these walls. It is the most important Jewish spiritual site, and Jews worship here daily.

To Christians, the Temple Mount is important because it played a central role in the life of Jesus Christ. He was a Jewish religious leader whom Christians consider the incarnation of God. Christians believe that Jesus prayed and taught at the Second Temple.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre
The holiest site for Christians is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Christians believe that at this site, Jesus Christ was crucified on a cross and buried in a nearby stone tomb. (The word sepulchre means “tomb.”) Three days later, they believe, he rose from the dead at this spot. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre contains more than 30 chapels and places of worship. The most important is the Tomb of Christ, also called the Edicule. Another is Golgotha, the rock where Jesus Christ was crucified, which was enclosed within the church sometime after his death.