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Lined with gardens, fountains and buildings, highlighted by the golden Dome of the Rock, the entire 35-acre Al-Aqsa area is regarded as a Mosque. The Dome of the rock or Farthest Mosque is the third-holiest Muslim site after the Sacred Mosque Ka’ba in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina. The Dome was built to commemorate the prophet Muhammad’s night journey where God took him from the Sacred Mosque in Mecca to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and then on to heaven. The Dome surrounds a rock structure Muslims believe to be the altar where Isaac almost sacrificed his son Ishmael (not Isaac as Christians and Jews believe).

We learned that I must speak Arabic and have an Arabic name to proceed beyond the Al-Aqsa entrance. Years of conflict led to strict entry requirements into this sacred Muslim area. I waited as Adam plotted a story. He bought some falafel. I noticed that Adam ate best while thinking and vice versa. He decided that having me memorize a few lines from the Koran wasn’t going to fool anyone; he would do the speaking and I would remain as I had for much of the trip: speechless with a smile.

I attempted to walk through the Al-Asqa entrance passing as a Muslim Turk. However, I didn’t possess the five o’clock shadow that morning the other Caucasians posing as Turks displayed. Even with Adam as my lead blocker, sure enough, I was stopped for questioning.

Adam took the lead to champion my entrance, “He has a Muslim mother. Not all Muslim-Americans speak Arabic…” Minutes of pleading passed; Adam learned, on duty security, place their job in jeopardy should any non-Muslim be caught causing mischief. He also learned that I wasn’t going to be allowed in that day. The guard appeased Adam by telling him to return with me the next day when non-Muslims were allowed inside.

Oh well, plenty of other places to visit. The brilliance of the sunlit dome from where I stood was good enough for me. The Dome of the Rock, once built of Solid Gold, was treated with a thin coating of 24-karat gold ten years earlier to retain a golden shimmer.