<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Problems playing this file? See media help . </Td> </Tr> <P> The Western Wall, Wailing Wall, or Kotel, known in Islam as the Buraq Wall, is an ancient limestone wall in the Old City of Jerusalem . It is a relatively small segment of a far longer ancient retaining wall, known also in its entirety as the "Western Wall". The wall was originally erected as part of the expansion of the Second Jewish Temple begun by Herod the Great, which resulted in the encasement of the natural, steep hill known to Jews and Christians as the Temple Mount, in a large rectangular structure topped by a huge flat platform, thus creating more space for the Temple itself and its auxiliary buildings . For Muslims, it is the site where the Islamic Prophet Muhammad tied his steed, al - Buraq, on his night journey to Jerusalem before ascending to paradise, and constitutes the Western border of al - Haram al - Sharif . </P> <P> The Western Wall is considered holy due to its connection to the Temple Mount . Because of the Temple Mount entry restrictions, the Wall is the holiest place where Jews are permitted to pray, though the holiest site in the Jewish faith lies behind it . The original, natural, and irregular - shaped Temple Mount was gradually extended to allow for an ever - larger Temple compound to be built at its top . This process was finalised by Herod, who enclosed the Mount with an almost rectangular set of retaining walls, built to support extensive substructures and earth fills needed to give the natural hill a geometrically regular shape . On top of this box - like structure Herod built a vast paved esplanade which surrounded the Temple . Of the four retaining walls, the western one is considered to be closest to the former Temple, which makes it the most sacred site recognised by Judaism outside the former Temple Mount esplanade . Just over half the wall's total height, including its 17 courses located below street level, dates from the end of the Second Temple period, and is commonly believed to have been built around 19 BCE by Herod the Great, although recent excavations indicate that the work was not finished by the time Herod died in 4 BCE . The very large stone blocks of the lower courses are Herodian, the courses of medium - sized stones above them were added during the Umayyad era, while the small stones of the uppermost courses are of more recent date, especially from the Ottoman period . </P> <P> The term Western Wall and its variations are mostly used in a narrow sense for the section traditionally used by Jews for prayer; it has also been called the "Wailing Wall", referring to the practice of Jews weeping at the site over the destruction of the Temples . During the period of Christian Roman rule over Jerusalem (ca . 324--638), Jews were completely barred from Jerusalem except to attend Tisha be-Av, the day of national mourning for the Temples, and on this day the Jews would weep at their holy places . The term "Wailing Wall" was thus almost exclusively used by Christians, and was revived in the period of non-Jewish control between the establishment of British Rule in 1920 and the Six - Day War in 1967 . The term "Wailing Wall" is not used by Jews, and increasingly not by many others who consider it derogatory . </P>

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