Dome of the Chain, Religious building at Temple Mount, Jerusalem, Palestine

The Dome of the Chain is a freestanding octagonal structure east of the Dome of the Rock, with eight pointed arches on grey-green stone columns with carved capitals. A grey ribbed metal dome with a crescent finial rests on an octagonal drum; a band of blue, yellow, green and white tilework runs above the arches. Inside, a white marble cylindrical enclosure stands at the centre.

This building was built in 691 CE under Caliph Abd al-Malik as an early structure on the mount. During the Crusader period it served as a chapel, but returned to Islamic use in 1187.

The name comes from an Islamic legend recorded by Mujir ad-Din: King Solomon hung a chain between heaven and earth east of the Rock, and only truthful litigants could grasp it. A man who hid 100 dinars in his staff swore falsely, so the chain withdrew to heaven. Tradition also holds that the chain will return on the Day of Judgment to stop sinners.

You can observe this building from the outside and study its original architectural features like marble columns and geometric decorations. The location requires respectful behavior and appropriate clothing as is customary in religious areas.

The 903 CE source records twenty columns, but a 1975–76 examination beneath the later pavement showed the building has not been altered since construction, so the present seventeen columns are original. The mihrab of al-Aqsa Mosque and this dome form the north–south axis of the Haram.