tors, for which reason the heart of every man of intelligence yearns towards her." In the space called the Noble Sanctuary were for the Moslem the great Aksa Mosque, the Dome of the Rock, the Dome of the Chain, as well as many lesser shrines. It was to the Rock the Angel Gabriel had conducted Mahomet on the night of his great flight from Mecca on the winged steed called Al Borak (The Lightning), and here he had met the other great prophets, Abraham, Moses and Jesus. There they had all prostrated themselves in common prayer, and from there Mahomet and the angel had climbed the Ladder of Light to the visitation of the Seven Heavens and the important interview with Allah, which settled for all time the form and content of the prayers of the faithful. It was on this same Rock the Ark of the Covenant had rested, and it had been at the center of the Temple of Solomon. Its very origin was divine, for it had fallen from Heaven, and its future magnificent, for underneath it, in the Cave of Souls, Allah will, on the Final Day, bring together the spirits of the true believers. Naturally, therefore, one of the first efforts of the Moslem builders was to do honor to this sacred spot and, before the first century of the era of the Prophet had begun to wane, an octagonal dome of great beauty had been erected there to protect the Rock. It was of white marble and, according to some descriptions, the roof was covered with reddish gold. There were really two domes, one above the other, and they were sup