The Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem is the third-holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina, and the southern anchor of the Temple Mount esplanade in the Old City. While the Dome of the Rock gets most of the visual attention, the silver-domed Al-Aqsa Mosque is the larger active mosque and the destination of the Prophet Muhammad’s Night Journey according to Islamic tradition. For Muslim visitors, this is one of the most spiritually significant destinations on earth.

This complete visitor information for the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem covers history, religious significance, who can enter, visiting hours and rules for non-Muslims, security procedures, dress code, and how to plan a respectful visit. Pair this with our Dome of the Rock guide and Holy Sites pillar.

What Is the Al-Aqsa Mosque?

The Al-Aqsa Mosque (Arabic: Al-Masjid al-Aqsa, “The Farthest Mosque”) is a congregational mosque on the southern end of the Temple Mount (Haram al-Sharif) in Jerusalem. The current structure dates primarily from the early 8th century, though it has been rebuilt and renovated many times.

Important note: “Al-Aqsa” in Islamic tradition refers to the entire 144,000 square meter esplanade (the Noble Sanctuary / Haram al-Sharif) — not just the silver-domed mosque. When Muslims speak of praying at “Al-Aqsa,” they generally mean the entire sacred precinct including the Dome of the Rock.

Religious Significance

The Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third-holiest site in Islam after the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina. Its significance is rooted in:

• The Night Journey (Isra and Mi’raj): The Quran describes the Prophet Muhammad traveling miraculously from Mecca to “the farthest mosque” (Al-Masjid al-Aqsa) and then ascending to heaven.
• The first Qibla: Early Muslims faced Jerusalem (not Mecca) in prayer.
• Prayer multiplier: A prayer at Al-Aqsa is traditionally worth 500 prayers elsewhere (compared to 100,000 at Mecca and 1,000 at Medina).

Who Can Enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque?

Only Muslims may enter the interior of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Non-Muslims can:

• Walk the Temple Mount esplanade during specific hours.
• Photograph the exterior of the mosque.
• Observe from the surrounding plaza.

The same access rules apply to the Dome of the Rock — see our Dome of the Rock guide for full visiting details.

Non-Muslim Visiting Hours (Esplanade)

• Sunday-Thursday only; closed Friday-Saturday.
• Morning: ~7:30 AM – 11:00 AM (summer; shorter winter hours).
• Afternoon: ~1:30 PM – 2:30 PM.
• Closed during Muslim prayer times and major Muslim holidays (Ramadan, Eid).
• Hours change frequently. Verify same day.

How to Enter the Esplanade

1. Walk to the Western Wall plaza.
2. Locate the Mughrabi Bridge — wooden ramp at the south end (only non-Muslim entry point).
3. Pass through the security checkpoint.
4. Walk up the ramp onto the esplanade.
5. Exit through any of several northern gates of the esplanade — you cannot return via the Mughrabi Bridge.

Entry for Muslim Visitors

Muslim visitors may enter through multiple gates of the Haram al-Sharif (including the Lions’ Gate, Damascus Gate, and Bab al-Silsila), with access through several gates inside the Old City directly to the esplanade. Muslim worship is permitted; Friday prayers especially fill the mosque to capacity.

Strict Dress Code (For All Visitors)

• Shoulders and knees covered.
• No revealing or tight clothing.
• No visible religious symbols of other faiths.
• No religious texts visible (Bibles, Torah).
• Modesty is required for all genders.

Conduct on the Esplanade

• No prayer by non-Muslims on the esplanade.
• No religious gestures (kneeling, prostration).
• Quiet voices.
• Stay on marked walkways.
• Do not photograph worshippers or security personnel without permission.
• Do not attempt to enter the mosques.
• Respect tour group leaders’ guidance.

A practical note on the security layers: expect your passport to be checked at the Mughrabi ramp by Israeli police, and your conduct on the esplanade to be watched by Waqf guards in addition to police — two separate authorities, both of whom take the no-prayer rule for non-Muslims literally. Guides who are not licensed for the Mount may wait outside; if you want interpretation up top, arrange it when booking. Water fountains exist near the ablution areas but bottled water in your bag is smarter on a summer morning, when the white stone pavement turns the plaza into a reflector oven by 9 AM.

Architecture and History

• 705 CE: Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid I completes the first Al-Aqsa Mosque.
• 746 CE: Major earthquake damages structure.
• Multiple rebuilds over centuries by Umayyad, Abbasid, Fatimid, Crusader (used as royal palace), Ayyubid, Mamluk, and Ottoman dynasties.
• 1187 CE: Saladin returns mosque to Muslim worship.
• Current structure: Combines elements from multiple eras.
• Capacity: ~5,000 worshippers inside; 400,000+ on the full esplanade during major holidays.

The list compresses a complicated building biography. The first mosque on this spot was reportedly a simple timber structure raised within a few years of the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem in 638 CE — the pilgrim Arculf described it around 670. The monumental Umayyad mosque came two generations later, and then the earthquakes began: the structure you see today owes its core to the Fatimid rebuild completed in 1035 under Caliph al-Zahir, making the standing building roughly a thousand years old even before counting its older foundations.

The Crusader century left the oddest fingerprints. After 1099 the mosque became first a royal palace, then the headquarters of the Knights Templar, who knew it as the Templum Salomonis — the Temple of Solomon — and took their name from it. The Templars added the vaulted annexes on the western side and used the underground halls as stables. When Saladin restored the mosque in 1187, he kept some Crusader stonework; look closely at the facade’s central bays and you are looking at 12th-century European arches on an Umayyad floor plan, capped by Mamluk and Ottoman repairs. Few buildings anywhere wear nine centuries of ownership changes this legibly. For the wider arc, see our Jerusalem history guide.

Inside the Qibli Mosque

The silver-domed building itself is properly called the Qibli Mosque (from qibla, the direction of prayer, since it stands at the southern, Mecca-facing edge of the sanctuary). Inside — accessible to Muslims only — seven aisles of marble columns and piers run toward a mihrab beneath the silver dome, whose interior carries gilded mosaics from Saladin’s 12th-century restoration. The prayer hall holds around 5,000 worshippers, with carpets running wall to wall and Mamluk-era stained glass filtering the light.

The most storied object inside is the minbar (pulpit) of Saladin. The original was commissioned in Aleppo by Nur al-Din in the 1160s, decades before Jerusalem was retaken, as a promise of return — Saladin installed it in 1187. It stood for eight centuries until 1969, when an Australian arsonist named Denis Michael Rohan set fire to the mosque and destroyed it, an attack that shocked the Muslim world and led to the founding of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. A meticulous replica, built in Jordan using the original joinery techniques (no nails, no glue), was installed in 2007.

The Marwani Prayer Hall (Solomon’s Stables)

Beneath the southeastern corner of the esplanade lies a vast vaulted underground space — rows of stone piers supporting the platform above, originally part of Herod’s engineering. The Crusaders stabled their horses here, which produced the name “Solomon’s Stables” that stuck for centuries. In 1996 the Waqf converted the space into the Marwani Prayer Hall, an underground mosque with room for several thousand worshippers, used mainly on Fridays, in winter weather, and during Ramadan. Like the other interiors on the Mount, it is closed to non-Muslim visitors, but knowing it exists changes how you read the esplanade: the flat plaza you walk across is a roof.

The Four Minarets

Four minarets ring the sanctuary, all built between 1278 and 1367 under the Mamluks — none on the eastern wall, a gap tradition explains in various ways. The most prominent, the Ghawanima minaret at the northwest corner, rises nearly 39 meters and is the one you hear most clearly from the Via Dolorosa below. The call to prayer from these four towers, layered against the church bells of the Christian Quarter and, on Friday evenings, the Shabbat siren, produces the soundscape that no photograph of Jerusalem captures. Stand on a rooftop at sunset — the Austrian Hospice works well — and you get all three at once.

Fridays and Ramadan: What Changes

Friday noon prayers are the weekly high tide. Tens of thousands of worshippers converge on the sanctuary, the surrounding streets of the Old City fill with foot traffic, and police sometimes apply entry restrictions at the gates during tense weeks. For non-Muslim travelers the practical takeaway is simple: the esplanade is closed to you on Fridays anyway, and between about 11 AM and 2 PM the routes near the compound’s gates are slow going. Plan the Western Wall or the Christian Quarter for that window instead.

During Ramadan, the scale multiplies: on the last Friday and on Laylat al-Qadr, attendance across the sanctuary has reached the hundreds of thousands, with the esplanade, the Marwani hall, and the surrounding streets all functioning as overflow prayer space. Tourist visits to the Mount are suspended for the entire month. If your trip overlaps Ramadan, treat that as a feature: evenings in the Muslim Quarter after the fast breaks — lantern-strung streets, qatayef pancakes from stalls near Damascus Gate for a few shekels — are one of the best atmospheres the city offers. Our travel tips guide covers the holiday calendar in detail.

After Your Visit: The Muslim Quarter on Foot

Non-Muslim visitors exit through the northern and western gates of the sanctuary, which deposit you straight into the Muslim Quarter’s market streets — conveniently, the best cheap-eating territory in the Old City. Two minutes from the Cotton Merchants’ Gate, Abu Shukri on El-Wad Street has been ladling out hummus since 1948 (around 35–45 ILS a plate). Jafar Sweets near Damascus Gate sells knafeh by the slab for about 15–20 ILS, and the bakeries along Khan ez-Zeit hand over sesame ka’ek bread rings for pocket change. We map the full circuit in our Jerusalem street food guide and the Old City guide.

If this is your first morning in the city, the natural sequence is: Western Wall at opening, Temple Mount esplanade via the Mughrabi ramp, exit north, eat, then walk the Via Dolorosa westward. That single loop covers three faiths’ holiest ground before lunch — our first-time visitor guide builds a full day around it.

Combine Your Visit With

• Dome of the Rock (just north of Al-Aqsa on the same esplanade).
• Western Wall (just below the esplanade).
• Davidson Center Archaeological Park.
• Old City Muslim Quarter and souks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can non-Muslims enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque?

No — the mosque interior is restricted to Muslims only. Non-Muslims can walk the surrounding esplanade and photograph the exterior.

Is the Al-Aqsa Mosque the same as the Dome of the Rock?

No. They are two separate structures on the same esplanade. The Dome of the Rock has the gold dome and is to the north; Al-Aqsa Mosque has the silver dome and is to the south. Both are sacred Islamic sites.

What are the visiting hours?

For non-Muslims walking the esplanade: Sun-Thu, ~7:30-11:00 AM and 1:30-2:30 PM. Closed Friday, Saturday, and Muslim holidays.

Is admission free?

Yes — free for both Muslims and non-Muslims on the esplanade. Only the interior of the mosque is restricted (to Muslims).

Why is it called “the farthest mosque”?

“Al-Aqsa” means “the farthest” — referring to the Quranic account of the Prophet Muhammad’s Night Journey from Mecca to “the farthest mosque” (Jerusalem) and his ascension to heaven from this site.

What should Muslim pilgrims expect?

Multiple entry gates, full prayer facilities, ritual ablution areas. Friday and Ramadan prayers fill the esplanade; expect crowds and security checks.

How long does a non-Muslim visit take?

30-60 minutes on the esplanade is typical, combining photos of both Al-Aqsa Mosque exterior and the Dome of the Rock.

Final Word: One of Islam’s Most Sacred Sites

Muslim pilgrims come here to pray at one of their faith’s three holiest places; everyone else comes to stand outside and take the measure of it. Either way, the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem deserves to be approached with reverence. Plan around the visiting hours, dress conservatively, and remember that this is one of the most spiritually significant places on earth for over 1.8 billion Muslims. Pair this with our Dome of the Rock guide and Holy Sites pillar.