CHAPTER I  THE CITY OF AL-QODS

(Its name, geographic location, topography, and climate)
The City's names

The city of Al-Qods has carried several names throughout its long history. Among other names, it has been designated as Ur-Shalem, Jebus, Al-Madina, Aelia Capitolina, Beit Al-Maqdis, Al-Qods Al-Shareef, Dar Es-Salam, and various other names.
(7) The earliest recorded name for this city occurs in Egyptian manuscripts, as in the Execration text, which dates back to the 18th and the 19th centuries B.C., in a form which could be deciphered as "Rushalimum". In the cuneiform character writings discovered in Tell Al-Amarna and dating back to the 14th century B.C., the name "Urusalim" often recurs.
(8) In the 7th century B.C., the appellation "Ursalimu" was the name frequently used in the San Sherib writings.
(9) Before this period, the Hebrews referred to this city as "Yerusalim", while the Greeks and Romans referred to it as "Hierosolyma", and the West gave it the name "Jerusalem".
(10) At one time (70 A.D.), the Romans called it "Solimus" and again (175 A.D.) "Solima"
(11) Tarn (1974) reports that, for a period of the Hellenistic Age, Al-Qods carried the name of "Antaquia". (12)

7. Palestine Encyclopedia, Volume III (1984).
   Talfât Khair-Allah, Al-Qods Throughout the Ages, Baghdad : 1981, p.16.

8. Ad-Dabbâgh (1974) notes in his book, Beit Al-Maqdis, that the Akkadians mention in their writings the name "Urusalem", but does not give the source of this information. See p. 23 <of his book>.

9. Jerusalem Revealed : Archeology in the Holy City (1969-1974). Al-'Amiri notes in his book, Al-Qods (in English), that "Ursalimu" was the name for Al-Qods in Assyrian texts. The current appellation "Yeru-Shalim", used by Zionists, is borrowed from Aramaic, Hebrew itself being derived from Canaanite and Aramaic languages.

10. Ad-Dabbagh (1974), Beit Al-Maqdiss, p. 24 ; Al-Hosseini Ishaq, Al-Qods : An Arab City, p. 34

11. Al-'Aref, The History of the City of Al-Qods, pp. 167-168

12. Tarn (1974), The Hellenistic Civilization, pp. 214-215

According to Is-hâq Mûssa Al-Huseinî, the city of Al-Qods was known in the works of Arabic historians and geographers by various names, of which the following : Yerusalem, Hieroshalem, Shalem, Salem, Jebus, Sion Moriah, Aelia, Beit Al-Maqdis, Al-Qods, and Al-Qods Al-Shareef (13) The Old Testament makes reference to "Shalem", which is perhaps the short form for "Hieroshalem". This appellation occurs in the Book of "Genesis", where the context is the arrival of Abraham, the Hebraic, in the land of the Canaans, in which he was received by "the King of Shalem", the Jebusan, and it also occurs in the Book of Joshua (10 : 1-5). The Book of Judges contains a mention of "Urshalem" while in the Book of Samuel II it is referred to as the "City of David". There is also a mention of it in the Book of Isaiah (29: 1) as "A'ri-el", which means God's lion or the "House of God". (14) With the advent of Islam, Al-Qods has had various appellations, including the following : Beit Al-Maqdis, Beit Al-Qods Al-Shareef, Al-Madina Al-Moqaddassa (the Holy City), and Ilyâ' (Aelia). To these appellations, Le Strange (1963) adds that of "Al-Balât". (15) This city is also referred to as "Al-Aqsa Mosque" and "The Olive". Both of these appellations occur in the Quran as follows :

"Glorified be He Who carried His servant by night from the Inviolable Place of Worship* to the Far Distant Place of Worship** the neighbourhood whereof We have blessed, that We might show him of Our tokens!"

* Mecca. ** Jerusalem.

Sûrah XVII (Al-Isrâ), Verse 1.

(Translation and notes from Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall's The Meaning of the Glorious Quran, Dar Al-Kitab Allubnani, Beirut).

1. "By the fig and the olive,
2. By Mount Sinai,
3. And by this land made safe ;"

Surah XCV (At-Tîn / The Fig), Verses 1-3. (Translation from Pickthall, op. cit.)

13. Al-Hosseini, The Arabicity of the City of Al-Qods, p. 31

14. Palestine Encyclopedia, volume III (1984), pp. 510-511; Al-Hosseini, Ibid., pp. 36 and 38;

A Dictionary of the Holy Book (1971) ; see the article on "Urshalem".

15. Al-Hosseini, Ibid., p. 43.
Marmaji (1948) Arab Palestine, see the chapter on Beit Al-Maqdis Le Strange (1965) Palestine under the Muslims, p.48.

Ibn 'Assâkir, quoting Ibn Al-'Abbâs, explicates the latter verses by stating that "The fig is the metonymic reference to the land of Al-Shâm <roughly, present-day Syria>, and the olive in like manner refers to the land of Al-Qods : Mount Sinai is the mountain on which Allah directly addressed Mûsâ (Moses), and the land made safe refers to Mecca". (16)

The name "Yerusalem" is etymologically composed of two words of western Asian origins : "Yrw" and "Slm" ; together these two terms probably signify "The institution of God". Shalem and Shahar are known in ancient mythology texts as two beautiful and generous gods whose names suggest the serenity of dawn and dusk twilight. (17) Some historians favour the interpretation of "Yerusalem" as "the City of Peace" "the Land of Peace". Others emphasize the metaphorical nature of the foregoing phrases, which accordingly stand for "the City of Justice" or "the City of Truth".

The City's geographical location

From its earliest history, Al-Qods has been located north-east of Mount Moriah. The earliest settlers of Al-Qods seem to have chosen this specific site because it is protected on three sides : on the east, it is protected by the Valley of the Kidron (18) , the south by the Valley of the Hinnom (19) , and on the west by the Valley of Tyropoeon. (20)

The city of Al-Qods is situated at latitude 31°52' north and at 35°13' longitude east. It lies at an altitude of 820 metres and is constructed on four mounts : Mt. Moriah, Mt. 'Akra, Mt. Beit-Zeta, and Mt. Zion. Its altitude is 2598 feet (820-830 metres). It is 52 km from the Mediterranean Sea, 22 km from the Dead Sea, and 250 km from the Red Sea. From Al-Qods to Amman

Beirut, Damascus, and Cairo, the distances are respectively 88, 388, 290, and 528 km ; to Baghdad, the air distance is 865 km. (21)

The City's topography

Al-Qods is situated on a ridge which previously consisted of five mounts : Fûriâ, on which the Mosque of Al-Aqsa is located ; âwfâl, which overlooks the

16. Al-'Aref, The History of Al-Qods, p. 169

17. Jerusalem Revealed, p. 4

18. Arabs call this valley "the Valley of Sitty Mariem". Jews call it "the Valley of Josaphat". It is located between the city and the Mount of Olives.

19. This valley has various names, including "Rabah Valley" and "Gehenna Valley"

20. Tyropoeon means "cheese-makers". See the article on "Urshalem" in A Dictionary of the Holy Book. See also Jerusalem Revealed, p. 1

21. Ad-Dabbâgh, Bit Al-Maqdis, p. 413 ; Talfâh, Al-Qods in the Middle Ages, p. 11

village of Salwân ; Sion, which overlooks the Pool of As-Sultân ; 'Akra, where the present Chrisian Quarter is ; and Bit-Zeta, which stretches from Bâb Hitta to Bâb Al-'Amûd. (22)

The expansion of Al-Qods has nowadays spread in all directions and construction has covered many of the neighbouring plateaux, the most important of which being : the Mount of Olives, the Mount of Al-Mashârif (23) , the Mount of Al-Qâtmûm, and the Mount of Al-Mûkabbir. (24)

The City's climate

The climate of Al-Qods is of the Mediterranean type. The average temperature is 9°.7 C in January and 25° C in August. In 1941, a heat wave raised the temperature in Al-Qods to 44° C.

The annual average rainfall in Al-Qods is about 551 mm, of which 70% occurs in winter. Studies of the weather conditions of this city show that periods of drought have occurred between 1854 and 1872, and again between 1924 and 1936. (25)

In a general manner, the climate of Al-Qods is very mild, and the air therein is bracing. In the summer, the sea breeze blows over the city and eases the heat. While no wind ever blows from the north, the north-west breeze is gentle and mild, and the west winds are frequent in winter. (26)

In his book, Ahsanu At-Taqâssîm fi Mâ'rifat Al-Aqâlîm, Al-Maqdissî describes the climate of Al-Qods as follows :
"The city knows neither harsh winters nor scorching summers. It rarely ever snows there. The air in it is neither too hot nor too cold ; this verily resembles the air in Paradise…" (27)

22. Al-'Aref, The History of Al-Qods, p. 187

23. This is "Mount Al-Mash-had" for the inhabitants of Al-Qods

24. Ad-Dabbâgh, Our Land Palestine, p. 54. On the mounts of Al-Qods, see Constantine Khammâr, Geographic Encyclopedia of Palestine, n° 16, pp. 92 & 101

25. Palestine Encyclopedia, Volume III, p. 510

26. Al-'Aref, The History of Al-Qods, p. 176

27. Quoted by Talfâh Khair-Allah in Al-Qods Throughout the Centuries (1981)