"We saw several other points of interest here, and then returned to the hotel. Our next excursion was along the Street of David to Mount Moriah, to see the site of Solomon's Temple and what remains of it. Down to quite recently no Christians were allowed to visit the Haram, or Sacred Enclosure on Mount Moriah, where the temple once stood, and which is now occupied by the Mosques of Omar and El-Aksa. Even now it is generally necessary to be accompanied by a policeman, or a janizary from the Consulate of your country, to protect you from insult. We had a janizary from the American Consulate, and experienced no difficulty in seeing what we wished to, though we were obliged to give quite an amount of backsheesh to get along. [Illustration: VIEW OF THE MOSQUE OF OMAR AND THE MOUNT OF OLIVES.] "The Haram includes nearly a fourth of the space enclosed in the walls of Jerusalem, and the Mosque of Omar rises so high in the air that it is the principal object in any outside view of the city. It is supposed to have been built by Sultan Omar. There is some doubt on the subject, but there can be no doubt that it is a very beautiful building, and the architect knew what he was about when he planned it. The mosque is on the highest part of the hill, and on the thrashing-floor that King David bought for fifty shekels of silver; on the inside the rock is preserved in its original state and enclosed in a railing. From its position, and also from having the original rock preserved as we have described, the building is called the _Kubbet-es-Sukrah_, or Dome of the Rock. It is an octagonal structure, and each of the eight sides is sixty-seven feet long. "Doctor Bronson says this is probably the most interesting spot in the world, as it is revered by the adherents of three religions who have regarded it as a holy place through many centuries. The Jews revered it, as we learn from the Old Testament, and from many events in modern as well as ancient history; the New Testament tells us its intimate connection with the story of Christ's coming on earth; and the Moslems consider it the holiest place next to the Kaaba at Mecca. They believe Mohammed came here in person, and at one time commanded his followers to turn their faces toward Jerusalem when saying their prayers. It is for this reason that they refused to allow Jews and Christians to visit the temple grounds, just as they will not allow them to go to Mecca at the present time. "The Haram, or temple enclosure, is about one thousand six hundred feet long by one thousand wide: it is not a regular quadrangle, and consequently this measurement is not exact. There are several buildings there in addition to the two mosques, but none are of much consequence, and we did not visit them. We were allowed to walk through the Mosque of Omar, and went from there to the Mosque El-Aksa. We were greatly interested in the architecture of the buildings, and quite as much in the story of the guide who accompanied us.