Wailing Wall

According to biblical accounts, Solomon's Temple was built on Temple Mount in the 10th century BC. It was destroyed by Babylonians in 586 BC and rebuilt as the Second Temple in 516 BC. This was then greatly expanded by King Herod the Great in 19 BC. Herod more than doubled the complex, erecting tall retaining walls surrounding the platform on which the temple was reconstructed.

More formally called the Western Wall, today's Wailing Wall is actually a section of the retaining wall from Herod’s expansion surrounding Temple Mount in the old city of Jerusalem. Since at least the 4th century the site has drawn Jewish pilgrimage. The reference to wailing at this wall pertains to the practice of bemoaning the destruction of the temple.

Herod's temple, too, was destroyed, this time by the Romans. The practice of wailing at the wall originated sometime during Roman occupation. In the earliest period, Jews were not permitted to live in the area. But by the time Constantine converted the empire to Christianity, Jews were allowed access to the site, and the practice of wailing at the wall for the loss of the temple and the condition of the Jewish people, began to be recorded. Another tradition does still remain, and visitors today do leave small notes in the crevices between the stones.

Jewish tradition holds that a Third Temple will be built on this holiest of sites. Other religions have attached further significance to Temple Mount though. Islamic tradition holds that this was the place where Muhammad tethered his fantastic flying steed, and after the Islamic conquest in 637, two significant structures were built on the site. The Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque, both of which remain. Claims on the site by both religions make this area a major part of what is the Arab-Israeli conflict today.