The Glow Is Really Golden
Glistening in Jerusalem's sunshine stands the golden dome, an Islamic shrine that is an iconic image in a city long worshiped—and fought over—by Christians, Muslims, and Jews. Jordan's late King Hussein spent $8 million in the early 1990s on renovations for the Dome of the Rock, replacing a leaky, gold-colored aluminum dome with an electroplated one that incorporated some 200 pounds of gold. The 1,300-year-old shrine is holy to Muslims as the site from which they believe Muhammad (who died in Saudi Arabia) ascended to heaven on a winged steed. Jews also revere the site as the rock where Abraham is said to have been commanded by God to sacrifice his son Isaac and where King Solomon built his first temple in the 10th century B.C.
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