al Aqsa on Friday

UN-truth has some pictures of the crowds at Masjid al-Aqsa on Friday night, and also some pictures from the Qalandia checkpoint earlier that day.

She was wondering how so many people managed to get there despite all the checkpoints. Plenty of people who wanted to go, didn't make it. A friend of my son's from university tried to get into Jerusalem for Jummah and Taraweeh, but he is young and has a West Bank ID, so he tried to sneak through. He got caught, held for a few hours and roughed up a little. Then the forced him to sign a paper, ostensibly to promise he won't try it again, and then released.

Pictures of al Aqsa

UN-truth posted some pictures taken at Taraweeh and Jummah prayers at al-Aqsa mosque yesterday. I wish I was there.

For more pictures, Visual Dhikr has a wonderful 360 degree panoramic view of the inside of the al Aqsa Mosque (not to be confused with the Dome of the Rock with it's gold dome and blue tiles).

Malek's Page on Bayt Al-Maqdis has more pictures of the whole al Aqsa compound, and and explanations and descriptions of the different buildings.

Friends of al Aqsa has a page that describes all of the little buildings around the al Aqsa compound. I used to sit with my friends under the "Dome of the lovers of the prophets" to study Qur'an together, while our little kids ran around and played in the gardens. (They are college students now.) This site used to have a very nice interactive guide, but it doesn't seem to be working for me now. InshaAllah it will be back.