The sanctuary’s courtyards are part of Al-Aqsa, not merely empty space around its buildings. The raised platform of the Dome of the Rock, freestanding arched approaches, shaded porticoes and smaller platforms organize the open ground in different ways. Each should be distinguished from an entrance through the outer boundary.[1]
In this guide
The open ground belongs to the sanctuary
The custodial guide explicitly includes courtyards and platforms within its definition of Al-Aqsa Mosque. This corrects a common visual assumption: that only roofed structures count as the religious site. The courtyards connect buildings physically, and the guide describes platforms associated with prayer and teaching. Open space therefore has an architectural and religious role even when it lacks a monumental enclosure.[2]
The raised platform
The Dome of the Rock occupies a higher platform within the enclosure. Freestanding arcades mark approaches to it. These are not the same as the gates through the sanctuary walls: crossing an arcade changes one’s position within the site rather than necessarily entering from the Old City. This distinction is particularly helpful when a guide translates both types of structure as a “gate.”[3]
Porticoes at the edges
A portico is a covered passage supported by columns or piers, with an open side. The western arcade can be read through its repeated stone arches and the shaded passage behind them. The photograph in Explore is evidence of that visible form. It does not, by itself, date the whole corridor or prove that every bay belongs to the same building campaign.[4][5]
Reading the center together with the edge
The freestanding monuments on the raised platform and the architecture along the perimeter create different spatial experiences. At the western edge, schools and gateways connect closely with the surrounding city. In the open center, domes are more easily seen from several sides. Comparing those settings helps explain the sanctuary as a connected environment rather than a set of isolated postcard subjects.[6][7]
An observation exercise
Choose one arcade and identify the supports, the curve of each arch, the covered passage and the space beyond it. Then compare it with a freestanding platform arcade. Record what the photograph actually shows before adding a historical date or a claim about use. This simple separation of observation from interpretation is especially valuable for structures whose detailed construction histories are still under study.[4][8]
Sources & references
References are attached to the passages they support. Dates below record source consultation.
- A Guide to Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Ash-Sharif (2015)
pp. 4–5, 32–35, 44–45, 64–65
PASSIA · Jerusalem Awqaf · Hashemite Fund · Consulted 2026-09-14
- A Guide to Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Ash-Sharif (2015)
pp. 4–5, 64–65
PASSIA · Jerusalem Awqaf · Hashemite Fund · Consulted 2026-09-14
- A Guide to Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Ash-Sharif (2015)
pp. 12–13, 32–35
PASSIA · Jerusalem Awqaf · Hashemite Fund · Consulted 2026-09-14
- Western portico and Chain Gate photograph
Jorge Láscar / Wikimedia Commons · Consulted 2026-09-14
- A Guide to Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Ash-Sharif (2015)
pp. 44–45
PASSIA · Jerusalem Awqaf · Hashemite Fund · Consulted 2026-09-14
- Madrasa al-Ashrafiyya · Yusuf al-Natsheh
Museum With No Frontiers · Discover Islamic Art · Consulted 2026-09-14
- A Guide to Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Ash-Sharif (2015)
pp. 24–29, 44–45
PASSIA · Jerusalem Awqaf · Hashemite Fund · Consulted 2026-09-14
- A Guide to Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Ash-Sharif (2015)
pp. 32–35, 44–45
PASSIA · Jerusalem Awqaf · Hashemite Fund · Consulted 2026-09-14