Temple Mount 02

If Jerusalem is likened to an eye, the Temple Mount would be the iris of the eye. Any adverse event happening here is felt not only in Israel, but often the world.

The Temple Mount has been the site of numerous "infantadas", or uprisings, between Palestinian Muslims and Israeli Jews. Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, visited the Temple Mount in 2001 and nearly sparked a war.

Visitors to the Temple Mount are reminded before tours that this place is a political and religious tinderbox. Guides are noticeably edgy as they ask for Bibles "for safe keeping" and remind people not to do anything that will cause a scene.

Once on the Temple Mount, Muslims at the Dome of the Rock are inquisitive and ask you in broken English why you're there, or where you're from.