Dome of the Rock lecture takes place on 26 November

The Dome of the Rock (Qubbat al-Sakhra) is the subject of a public lecture in Jerusalem on 26 November 2026, when the Ecole Biblique et Archeologique Francaise de Jerusalem examines the shrine's medieval inscriptions and Crusader history. The event takes place at the EBAF lecture hall rather than inside the monument itself.

Dome of the Rock lecture is set for 26 November

The lecture is part of the EBAF Thursdays programme and begins at 6pm on Thursday, 26 November 2026. EBAF lists the venue as its lecture hall at 83-85 Nablus Road, also known as Derekh Shekhem, in Jerusalem. The organiser says that admission is free and that the session is open to all visitors.

Estelle Ingrand-Varenne, director of the French Research Centre in Jerusalem, leads the session. The programme examines how the building was understood after the Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099 and transformed the shrine into a church known as the Templum Domini. Its focus is the role of public writing in that change and what the inscriptions reveal about the way the Crusaders interpreted and used Jerusalem's holy places. The EBAF programme details give the date, venue, speaker and subject.

How the 1099 transformation shaped the shrine

The lecture connects a current cultural programme with a building whose appearance and meaning have changed across several centuries. EBAF describes the Dome of the Rock as an Umayyad shrine built at the end of the seventh century on the elevated esplanade. After 1099, Latin inscriptions were placed on its walls and around the rock, presenting a new Christian interpretation to pilgrims.

Saladin recaptured Jerusalem in 1187, ending the Crusader period described in the programme. The building remains within the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls, the UNESCO World Heritage property inscribed in 1981. UNESCO identifies the Dome of the Rock among the city's 220 historic monuments and describes its seventh-century construction and geometric and floral decoration in the World Heritage record.

The relationship between the lecture and the monument is therefore precise: visitors will hear about inscriptions that helped redefine the shrine in the twelfth century, while the building itself remains a landmark within the protected historic city. The event offers a way to approach the site through its written surfaces and changing historical uses rather than through a visit to the lecture venue alone.

Visiting Dome of the Rock: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• The lecture takes place on 26 November 2026 at the EBAF lecture hall, 83-85 Nablus Road, Derekh Shekhem, Jerusalem.
• The Dome of the Rock is the subject of the session, but the lecture is not held inside the shrine; EBAF states that admission is free and open to all.
• EBAF lists the programme language as French and gives the start time as 6pm on 26 November 2026.
• The venue is in Jerusalem, while the monument discussed belongs to the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls, inscribed by UNESCO in 1981.

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Frequently asked questions about Dome of the Rock

When does the lecture take place at Dome of the Rock?

The lecture about the Dome of the Rock takes place on 26 November 2026 at the EBAF lecture hall in Jerusalem, not inside the shrine.

What is the Dome of the Rock?

It is a seventh-century Umayyad shrine within the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls, a UNESCO World Heritage property inscribed in 1981.

Where is the lecture and how do you get there?

The venue is the EBAF lecture hall at 83-85 Nablus Road, also called Derekh Shekhem, in Jerusalem.