The Rock
by Makiya, Kanan
In the beginning there was a rock deemed the point of creation of the cosmos and the place of assembly on the Day of Judgement. Then there was a dome built over the rock – the Dome of the Rock. Few sites in the world have been held as sacred, or has been fought over, as the Rock, but whose rock is enshrined inside the golden Dome of Jerusalem? The Rock of Moses or of Muhammad? Makiya has gathered together the stories, legends and beliefs that define the Rock – the rock where Abraham attempted to sacrifice Isaac; the rock on which Adam landed on his fall from Paradise; the rock on which Solomon’s Temple once stood and where Jesus preached, a temple which was the model for the Muslim Dome that remains Jerusalem’s symbol to this day.
Review
‘Makiya builds . . . a rich, compelling and carefully annotated tale of power politics and apocalyptic theology.’ — Sunday Times, May 19, 2002