tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480763369736326403.post967069273933518473..comments2023-06-08T18:12:39.596-04:00Comments on Water Over Rocks: Let's Start the BiddingAndy Bachmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12793260246107995501noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480763369736326403.post-2565105140927502912009-08-07T10:45:45.123-04:002009-08-07T10:45:45.123-04:00This is a wonderful fantasy, especially to someone...This is a wonderful fantasy, especially to someone who's interested in archaeology and the history of religion and Jerusalem's role in that history.<br /><br />One small note: it was the Byzantine Christian authorities who turned the Temple Mount into a garbage dump in the late antique period. <br /><br />As the story goes, when Umar ibn al-Khattab entered Jerusalem in 638 CE, he found the Temple Mount with the help of a Jewish aide named Ka'b, and ordered the site to be thoroughly cleaned and purified. He then erected a simple prayer shrine and prayed. <br /><br />Interestingly, he prayed toward Mecca and the "Foundation Stone" at the same time. All of this is to suggest, according to some sources (Muslim and otherwise) that he was familiar with, and respectful to, Judaism and its once holy site.Sam Schindlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05375790898683579403noreply@blogger.com