Editing Al-Aqsa Mosque (section)

===Facade and porch===
[[File:Al-Aqsa_Mosque_(Temple_Mount,_Jerusalem,_2008).jpg|thumb|The facade of the mosque. It was constructed by the [[Fatimid]]s, then expanded by the [[Crusades|Crusader]]s, the [[Ayyubid]]s and the Mamluks]]

The facade of the mosque was built in 1065 CE on the instructions of the Fatimid caliph [[Ma'ad al-Mustansir Billah|al-Mustansir Billah]]. It was crowned with a balustrade consisting of arcades and small columns. The Crusaders damaged the facade, but it was restored and renovated by the Ayyubids. One addition was the covering of the facade with tiles.<ref name="Nusseibeh">Ma'oz, Moshe and Nusseibeh, Sari. (2000). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=9evpVS_ackwC&pg=PA137 Jerusalem: Points of Friction, and Beyond]'' BRILL. pp. 136–138. {{ISBN|90-411-8843-6}}.</ref> The second-hand material of the facade's arches includes sculpted, ornamental material taken from Crusader structures in Jerusalem.<ref>Hillenbrand, Carolle. (2000). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=UalnoF5MBHMC&pg=PA382 The Crusades: The Islamic Perspective] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715042920/https://books.google.com/books?id=UalnoF5MBHMC&pg=PA382 |date=15 July 2020 }}'' Routeledge, p. 382 {{ISBN|0-415-92914-8}}.</ref> The facade consists of fourteen stone arches,<ref name="auto">{{cite web |title=Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem |publisher=Atlas Travel and Tourist Agency |url=http://www.atlastours.net/holyland/al_aqsa_mosque.html |access-date=29 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726195105/http://www.atlastours.net/holyland/al_aqsa_mosque.html |archive-date=26 July 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{dubious|reason=See picture: seven! Unless you count the inner ones PLUS the outer ones as separate, so 7+7=14, but that's WEIRD! |date=June 2016}} most of which are of a [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] style. The outer arches added by the Mamluks follow the same general design. The entrance to the mosque is through the facade's central arch.<ref name="SD">[http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-al-aqsa-mosque.htm Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724183611/http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-al-aqsa-mosque.htm |date=24 July 2008 }} Sacred Destinations.</ref>

The porch is located at the top of{{dubious|reason=Maybe "in front of"??!! |date=June 2016}} the facade. The central bays of the porch were built by the [[Knights Templar]] during the [[First Crusade]],{{dubious|reason=The Kn. T. didn't exist during the 1st Cr. – maybe "in the aftermath of..."? Which "bays" (one, three, five,...)? |date=June 2016}} but Saladin's nephew [[al-Mu'azzam Isa]] ordered the construction of the porch itself in 1217.<ref name="Nusseibeh"/>{{dubious|reason=Meaning what, that he EXTENDED the porch to the entire width of the facade? Or were the Crusader bays detached? Unlikely. Try to make sense. Quoted page not available today on Google Books. |date=June 2016}}