Temple Mount Western Wall

The holiest place in judaismis the temple mountwhere the second templestood until it was destroyed by the romansin 70 c e.
Temple mount western wall. The temple mount refers to the elevated plaza above the western wall in jerusalem that was the site of both of judaism s ancient temples. The western wall is one of the four supporting walls of the temple mount that remained intact after the destruction of the second beit hamikdash the second temple. The wall dates from about the 2nd century bce though its upper sections were added. The wailing wall also known in arabic as al buraq wall is a section of the western wall of the temple mount and is holiest site where jews are permitted to pray.
It is a relatively small segment of a far longer ancient retaining wall known also in its entirety as the western wall. For muslims temple mount is also known as the noble sanctuary or haram al sharif. It is the wall that faces westward and it is the closest in proximity to the site of the holy of holies the most sacred location in the temple for the jewish people. In the jewish religion it is the closest place they can get to what was the holy of holies in their jewish temple where they believe the presence of god resides on earth.
At present the site is under israeli sovereignty but is administered by the muslim waqf religious trust. It is the only remains of the second temple of jerusalem held to be uniquely holy by the ancient jews and destroyed by the romans in 70 ce. The al aqsa mosque in the temple mount complex is the third holiest site in the world for islam. The authenticity of the western wall has been confirmed by tradition history and archaeological research.
The western wall is the western retaining wall of the temple mount. Only when used in this sense is it synonymous with the term wailing wall. Mistakenly the western wallis generally thought to be the holiest site but prayers at this location are a relatively recent phenomenon which were prompted ironically by a muslim conqueror. The site is also the third holiest in islam after mecca and medina and has been a focal point of inter religious tension for decades.
The term western wall commonly refers to a 187 foot 57 m exposed section of a much longer retaining wall built by herod on the western flank of the temple mount.