Dome of the Rock

Dome of the Rock tickets and tours: which one to book

There is no ticket for the Dome of the Rock. The shrine stands on the esplanade that Muslims call al-Haram al-Sharif and Jews and Christians the Temple Mount, and the esplanade is free to visit. Non-Muslim visitors may walk on the platform during limited morning and early-afternoon hours but cannot enter the Dome of the Rock or the al-Aqsa Mosque; since 2000 the interiors have been open only to Muslims. Entry for non-Muslims is through a single gate, reached by a covered wooden walkway from the security check beside the Western Wall plaza, and queues form well before opening. What you can book is a guided visit.

Private guides and small-group walking tours meet in the Old City, take you through the security line at the opening time and explain the buildings, inscriptions and layers of history on the esplanade, then usually continue to the Western Wall, the Jewish Quarter or the Via Dolorosa. Half-day versions concentrate on the Temple Mount and its surroundings; full-day Old City tours include it as one stop. The value of a guide here is context: the site is sacred to three faiths and politically sensitive, and a good guide explains why rules change at short notice. Muslim visitors enter by the other gates of the compound and may pray inside. Everyone should expect bag searches, and items such as religious books or objects of other faiths may be refused.

Visiting Dome of the Rock: what to see and how to behave

The Dome of the Rock was completed in 691 or 692 under the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik and is the oldest surviving major monument of Islamic architecture. It is not a mosque in the usual sense but a shrine built over the rock from which Muhammad is believed to have ascended to heaven during the Night Journey; Jewish tradition places the Holy of Holies of the Temple, and the binding of Isaac, at the same spot. The congregational mosque of the compound is al-Aqsa, at the southern end of the platform. The building is an octagon crowned by a gilded dome about 20 m across, raised on a drum above the rock.

From the esplanade, look at the outer walls, faced with blue, green and white tiles first added under the Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in the 16th century and renewed many times since, and at the bands of Quranic inscriptions running below the roof line. The interior, known to most visitors only from photographs, keeps much of its original gold-ground mosaic and a long Kufic inscription from the 7th century. Around the platform stand smaller domed pavilions, including the Dome of the Chain just to the east, fountains for ablutions and arcaded stairways. Behave as in any place of worship: no displays of affection, no prayer or religious objects for non-Muslims, and no sitting on the platform walls. Photography of the exteriors is allowed. Police and the Islamic religious trust that administers the site can close it with little warning.

Dome of the Rock: opening hours, ceremonies and the best time to go

Visiting hours for non-Muslims are short, usually a few hours in the morning and a brief slot in the early afternoon from Sunday to Thursday, with slightly different times in winter and summer. The esplanade is closed to non-Muslims on Fridays and Saturdays and on Muslim holidays, and access is often restricted during Ramadan, at times of tension and around Jewish festivals. Check the hours the day before. Go at opening time, as the queue at the security check builds quickly and the visiting window closes on schedule, even if you are still in line.

Early morning also brings the best light on the dome and the tiles. Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons in Jerusalem; summer midday on the open platform is hot. Allow about an hour on the esplanade. Combine it with the Western Wall and its tunnels, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Jewish Quarter and a walk on the Mount of Olives for the classic view of the golden dome.