Well of Souls

The cave sits beneath the Dome of the Rock and forms a natural chamber measuring six meters on each side, with a ceiling height between one and a half and two and a half meters. Walls and floor are bare rock, and light filters down softly through the shrine above.

When Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099, they turned the Dome of the Rock into a church and used the chamber below as the Holy of Holies. The entrance leading down was likely built in the 7th or 9th century, when Islamic builders expanded the shrine.

Islamic tradition holds that souls gather in this underground chamber beneath the Foundation Stone, waiting for the Day of Judgment. Visitors step into a space that carries deep spiritual weight in Muslim belief and has been revered for centuries.

Visitors descend 16 marble steps through a narrow entrance to reach the chamber below. The low ceiling calls for careful movement in some places, and the space stays cool even on hot days.

A round hole nearly half a meter wide sits in the center of the floor, and its original purpose remains uncertain. Some researchers believe it once served as a ventilation shaft or a communal pit.