Athena Review Image Archive ™
Jerusalem: Al Aqsa, North Porch, Inscription AD 1345 (photo 1938-42)
Jerusalem: Al Aqsa, Porch inscription at Pier 2, AD 1345 (photo: DAP 24-557 /IAA)
The North Porch or Portico of Al Aqsa was first built by Templars during the Crusader period (AD 1099-1187). The Porch was expanded in the 13th-16th centuries under successive sultans, recorded by inscriptions on the north facade.
This photo (DAP 24-557) of the inscription over Pier 2 of the North Porch, dating from AD 1345, was taken during testing by the Palestine Department of Antiquities (DAP) in 1938-1942. The Arabic inscription reads:
"Bismillah
... Hath been renewed this blessed and newly restored mosque, and the
newly restored doors in the days of our Lord, the Sultan al Malik al
Kamil ... son of al Malik an Nasir Muhammed Ibn Qalauun...under the
supervision of Aybak al Maari, warden of the two Noble Sanctuaries, in
the month of Rajab, year 746 (AD 1345)."
DAP photos, drawings, and R. W. Hamilton`s 1942 report are in the Archives at the Israeli Archaeology Authority (iaa-archives-org.il).
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