Two men stop to chat in front of the elaborately-tiled Dome of the Rock mosque in Jerusalem's Old City. Jerusalem is Islam's third holiest city. The gold-domed mosque is the site from which Muhammad is said to have risen to heaven.

As can be seen from the map of Jerusalem, the Dome of the Rock is situated amidst sites that are sacred to three religions. Jerusalem's turbulent history accounts for the phenomenal juxtaposition. Christianity became legal in the Roman Empire in the early 4th century, at which time The Church of the Holy Sepulcher (built on the site of the Crucifixion) and many other Christian shrines were erected. The Muslim Arabs took Jerusalem in 638 and built (688-91) the Dome of the Rock mosque on the site of the Temple. Just a few paces away is the Western Wall (or Wailing Wall), a remnant of the supporting wall of the Second Temple. After the Jews were banished from the Temple Mount, the Western Wall became the most sacred place of Judaism.