Jerusalem Terminology: First Entries
Short explanations of terms non-specialist readers need: courtyards, prayer hall, gate, market, and quarter.
This installment offers reading keys, not legal definitions. The aim is for the reader to distinguish the common name from loose usage.
First entries
- Courtyards: the open spaces inside Al-Aqsa Mosque.
- Qibli prayer hall: the roofed building in the south of the Haram.
- Gate: an entrance in the wall or around the Haram, with a name and a function.
- Market: a commercial fabric across times and alleys—not a single shop.
- Quarter (hara): a residential-social unit finer than «neighborhood» in traditional speech.
Closing
Later installments will be added for gate and dome names. Until then, link each term to its page in the Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa sections.