Day 4: THIS morning the Building Bridges group enjoyed a very special moment. The Christian members along with the Muslim members set off early to visit the Haram esh-Sharif, the “Noble Sanctuary” or Temple Mount, which now houses The Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosque.

Traditionally the site of Solomon’s temple, enlarged by Herod the Great and destroyed by the Romans, left in ruins for half a century, the site became an Islamic shrine in Ad 692 with the building of the Dome of the Rock, making it the most important Islamic sanctuary.

Traditionally non-Muslims are only allowed into the sanctuary on certain days and at certain times but since the second Intifada they have not been allowed inside the mosque or the Dome due to security reasons.

But whilst walking around the sanctuary the Muslim members struck up conversation with a local Muslim about how the non-Muslims really wanted to get into the Dome of the Rock.

They were told it was usually very difficult and there was a lot of red tape to go through and that it could even take up to three days for permission to be granted. But as luck will have it the director of Al-Waqaf, the organisation in charge of looking after the sanctuary walked past and said they could all go in.

Said Burnley pharmacist Imran Nazir: “We just weren’t expecting it.

“The whole group really wanted to go inside and we just thought it wasn’t going to happen until this director went past and started talking to us.

“When we explained who we were and what we were doing in Jerusalem he was more than happy to let us all through together.

“It meant the world to the whole team to go in together and we felt it was God’s will that we would meet the director who then made it happen.”

Inside this fabulous building, which was built in AD 688-91 by the Omayyad caliph Abd el-Malik, the majestic structure has become a symbol of the city.

Inside, the Dome it contains The Rock believed to be where Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac, where Mohammed left the earth on his Night of Journey and is also the site of the Holy of Holies of Herod’s temple. Religiously significant to all three faiths, it was a truly amazing and powerful moment when both Muslims and Non-Muslims entered the room, which contained The Rock.

Bea Foster said she felt overwhelmed when she entered having thought she would never get the opportunity.

She said: “It really was a once in a lifetime experience and I’ll never have this opportunity ever again.

“It also meant a lot to us that we could share this with our Muslim brothers. If it weren’t for them I wouldn’t have experienced it.

“We could see and feel why this place was so special and so revered and was one of the highlights of our visit to this special city.”

One of the highlights for Blackburn lawyer Abdul Hafeez Darr was an incident with three young boys playing marbles in the sanctuary.

He told of how as they were playing marbles one of the younger boy’s marble went into a whole and he couldn’t get it out. This he blamed on his older brother and they started fighting.

Said Abdul: “I watched them and went over to them and they stopped. From appearance they looked very poor and I offered them money to buy something new.

“This gesture offended the younger boy. And he declined and then so did the older boy. I said I have three children and they reminded me of my own.

“They said even so they didn’t take money from people and then the younger boy pulled out three Israeli shekels (less than £1) and said to me ‘look we have money’.

“This humble nature of the children really touched me. I have found the very nature of people here kind, gentle and above all humble and this is something that I will take back with me.”

The visit to Haram esh-Sharif was followed by a visit to Mount of Olives, the hill that rises to the east of the Old City and offers magnificent views of the Dome of the Rock and the Old City.

Its slopes have been used as a burial site. During the time of the first and second Temples, Mount Olives was the place where the high priest used to slaughter and burn the 'Red Cow', who's ashes purify the impure.

After the destruction of the Temple, Mount Olives remained important, and was a kind of a 'temporary replacement' to Temple Mount during times when Jews were not allowed to enter.

From biblical times until today, Jews have been buried on the Mount of Olives. There are an estimated 150,000 graves on the Mount. It also the scene of Christ’s agony and betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane and his ascension to heaven.

The Chapel of Ascension, a simple domed structure built within the grounds of a mosque converted from a Crusader church is believed to be the place from where Christ ascended into heaven and contains Christ’s footprint. This is at the top of the mount and was Father Michael’s first visit to the church. He said he was deeply moved by being there.

Further down the mount we saw the Russian Church of the Ascension and the Church of all Nations, also known as the Church of the Agony because it is built over the rock in the Garden of Gethsemane on which it is believed Christ prayed the night before he was arrested.

And if all this wasn’t enough to take in some of us returned to the Haram esh-Sharif where our Muslim chaplain, Fazlurrahman Hassan had arranged a meeting with one of the imam’s at the Al-Aqsa mosque, Sheikh Yousaf Abdul Wahab As-Sunaina.

This was a very privileged meeting as the Sheikh is a very busy man and does not do this very often. I was particularly excited, as it was the first time I had entered the Al-Aqsa mosque but also the Sheikh was more than happy for a female to attend the meeting.

He explained how he had been the imam at the mosque for 29 years. In total there are five imams at this sanctuary, three at the Al-Aqsa mosque and two at the Dome of the Rock.

The Sheikh took us around the mosque and the sanctuary. He had much knowledge of the area and was able to relate stories to the group.

He also taught women at a school set up in the sanctuary. The nine-month programme teaches women about the hadiths and he has also taught women to memorise the Quran.

He said: “It’s important for women as well as men to learn about the history of Islam so they can go out there and teach other women and children.

“We do not charge for this as it’s part of our everyday work and we need to encourage more women to learn.”

The Sheikh also told us to make the world a better place we must be good and to have faith.

He shared his hope of a free land for the Palestinians and wanted to educate people about the Palestinian struggle so that peace can be achieved and this was his message to British Muslims.

He believed terror was NOT the way forward.

He said: “Show your support but show it by becoming a better person and strengthening the Muslim faith. Peace some day will be achieved but it will be a long struggle and because of this we need to be strong.”

I enjoyed the Sheikh’s company. He even took us into his private office and served coffee to everyone. What a great guy I thought, humble in nature, open minded and welcoming, and that’s how it should be. Again I thought, this is how mosques should be everywhere, a place where we feel at peace and at times even at home.