Importance of the Holy Center in the Formation of Urban Identity: Example of Harem-i fierif in Jerusalem of Islamic Period= Kent Kimli inin Olu umunda Kutsal Merkezin Yeri: slam D nemi Kudüs'ünde Harem-i erif rne i

In Jerusalem, the common holy city of the three monotheistic religions, the area which survived for 3000 years as the sacred centre, and known as “Haram al-Sharif” during the Islamic period, is the focus of the town’s rich religious-symbolic background, and of the “holy geometry” re ected on it. If we study the place of the Haram al-Sharif in the formation of the urban identity, we notice that this sacred area, by occupying almost the 1/5 of the old town surface, is dominant in two dimensions (on the plan). On the other hand, the Dome of the Rock, located at the centre of Haram al-Sharif and being the most splendid Islamic building in town, constitutes a strong visual focus that dominates the holy city in the 3rd dimension (silhouette) as well, by rising on one of the highest hills of the surrounding, and with its central mass crowned by an onion-shaped dome resting on a high drum. This monument, built in the 7th century by the Umayyades at the site of the Temple of Solomon, was identified for centuries with its mythical predecessor and so became the “symbol” of Jerusalem in the 4th dimension (time) and in the collective memory. With time, this symbol was metamorphosed into an emblem and nowadays into an artefact of tourism. However, we can assert that this transformation, instead of denying, supports the fact that the Dome of the Rock “symbolises” Jerusalem. ü tek tanr l dinin ortak kutsal kenti olan Kudüs’te, 3000 y ld r kutsal merkez olarak varl n sürdüren, slam d neminde de “Haremi erif” ad n alm olan b lge, kentin sahip oldu u zengin dinsel-simgesel anlam düzleminin ve bu düzleme yans yan “kutsal geometrisinin” odak noktas d r. Harem-i erif’in kent kimli inin olu umundaki yeri incelendi inde, s z konusu kutsal alan n, eski kentin yakla k 1/5’ini kaplayarak iki boyutta (planda) egemen oldu u g zlenir. Di er taraftan, Harem-i erif’in merkezinde yer alan ve kentteki en g rkemli slam yap s olan Kubbet el-Sahra, evrenin en yüksek tepelerinden biri üzerinde yükselmesi, merkez planl kitlesini ta land ran kasna ve so an kubbesiyle, kente ü üncü boyutta (siluette) egemen olan gü lü bir g rsel odak te kil eder. Bir zamanlar, Süleyman Tap na ’n n yükseldi i platformda VII. yüzy l sonlar nda Emev ler taraf ndan yapt r lan Kubbet el-Sahra, zaman i inde s z konusu tap nakla zde le erek d rdüncü boyutta ve toplumsal bellekte de Kudüs’un “simgesi” haline gelmi tir, giderek kentin “amblemi” olarak tan mlanmaya ba lam ve günümüzde “turistik objeye” d nü mü tür. Ancak, bu d nü ümünün Kubbet el-Sahra’n n, Kudüs’ü “simgeledi i” ger e ini ortadan