Collapse of Wall on Temple Mount

CelesKnight · Post by **CelesKnight** » 2003-09-25 09:17pm

An interior wall has collapsed at a hotly contested Jerusalem holy site, setting off fears of religious violence between Muslims and Jews.

....

Newsweek has called the southern wall "The Armageddon wall," because the old rocks help support an enormous stone platform that holds the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, among Islam's most sacred shrines.

Should it collapse, some archeologists fear a doomsday effect – dead worshippers, perhaps in the thousands, riots throughout the Middle East [...].

This is somewhat scarry when you think about how any serious collapse could escalate.

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2003-09-25 09:39pm

So some crazy with an RPG could bring down the wall, collapse the temples, and set off the Crusades 2.0? That's reassuring.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2003-09-25 11:06pm

Moved to N&P.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-09-25 11:06pm

Has to happen sooner or later. That's the problem with worshipping ancient shit.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2003-09-25 11:06pm

HemlockGrey wrote:So some crazy with an RPG could bring down the wall, collapse the temples, and set off the Crusades 2.0? That's reassuring.

Actually, I find it very comforting. They'll all wipe each other out and we'll have some peace instead of the continuing cycle of lunacy.

Xenophobe3691 · Post by **Xenophobe3691** » 2003-09-25 11:07pm

Dammit, I've got too many memories invested into the Southern Wall to let something like that slide without care...

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2003-09-25 11:07pm

Darth Wong wrote:Has to happen sooner or later. That's the problem with worshipping ancient shit.

And crapply built, half demolished shit at that.

Xenophobe3691 · Post by **Xenophobe3691** » 2003-09-25 11:08pm

Stormbringer wrote:
Darth Wong wrote:Has to happen sooner or later. That's the problem with worshipping ancient shit.
And crapply built, half demolished shit at that.

That stuff's been standing for thousands of years. I doubt your house, or mine either, is gonna last a tenth as long.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-09-25 11:09pm

Why don't they just take the opportunity to shore up the foundations, pour fresh concrete, add steel reinforcements, etc.? While they're at it, as long as they're violating the sanctity of the place anyway, they can add neon lights so people can worship at night, running water for a childrens' waterpark, and of course, a drive-through donut shop.

Xenophobe3691 · Post by **Xenophobe3691** » 2003-09-25 11:16pm

Darth Wong wrote:Why don't they just take the opportunity to shore up the foundations, pour fresh concrete, add steel reinforcements, etc.? While they're at it, as long as they're violating the sanctity of the place anyway, they can add neon lights so people can worship at night, running water for a childrens' waterpark, and of course, a drive-through donut shop.

WorldNetDaily wrote: Despite the fact the Temple Mount is the only real estate in the world revered by Jews, Israel has turned over day-to-day administration of the area to the Waqf, an Islamic trust with close ties to Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority.

A year-long dispute between Israel and the Waqf over who will fix the bulge was solved in October with a decision to involve the Jordanian engineers, who inspected and took a sampling of the protruding wall.

A report the engineers subsequently issued recommended replacing some of the eroding stones in the 2,000-year-old wall to prevent it from future collapse.
...
Prior to the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1994, Jordan was in charge of maintenance at the Temple Mount. In the years since, the PA, seeking to gain a foothold in Jerusalem, ousted both the Jordanian-appointed Waqf director and the Jerusalem mufti – both of whom had for years quietly cooperated with Israel – and replaced them with its own people.

Oh, and bright lights are already set up at the Western Wall, Jerusalem's in the middle of a desert, so a waterpark's kinda out of the question, and if you could convince enough people to run a road up to the Mount, you probably could set up a kosher donut shop. Memories of Ben and Jerry's after a trip to the Southern Wall come to mind...

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2003-09-25 11:49pm

Xenophobe3691 wrote:
Stormbringer wrote:
Darth Wong wrote:Has to happen sooner or later. That's the problem with worshipping ancient shit.
And crapply built, half demolished shit at that.
That stuff's been standing for thousands of years. I doubt your house, or mine either, is gonna last a tenth as long.

Probably not. Though my current residence being mostly concrete block and steel might if let alone.

But then again the Greeks built temples that are still standing with nearly twice the mileage. And the Romans built projects that are still used today in addition to temples like the Pantheon.

Nathan F · Post by **Nathan F** » 2003-09-26 12:30am

Darth Wong wrote:Why don't they just take the opportunity to shore up the foundations, pour fresh concrete, add steel reinforcements, etc.?

Yeah, if they would get their heads out of their asses long enough to HELP one another, that would actually be a good idea. Help keep some of the world's architectural and historical sites (even if you aren't religious) intact. This is as bad as those Arabs in Afghanistan blowing up the ancient Buddahs. Heck, I'm about as far from Buddhism as you can get, but I would never destroy an ancient monument like that. That would be like me going down and trying to blow up the Parthenon (again...) or tear down the Pyramids.

LordShaithis · Post by **LordShaithis** » 2003-09-26 02:59am

Stormbringer wrote:And the Romans built projects that are still used today in addition to temples like the Pantheon.

Really? Like what??

Faram · Post by **Faram** » 2003-09-26 03:06am

GrandAdmiralPrawn wrote:
Stormbringer wrote:And the Romans built projects that are still used today in addition to temples like the Pantheon.
Really? Like what??

Bridges and stuff all over Europe.

Stuart Mackey · Post by **Stuart Mackey** » 2003-09-26 03:18am

This is what happens when politics and religon interfer with what should be museum work.

Dahak · Post by **Dahak** » 2003-09-26 05:25am

Stormbringer wrote:
Xenophobe3691 wrote:
Stormbringer wrote: And crapply built, half demolished shit at that.
That stuff's been standing for thousands of years. I doubt your house, or mine either, is gonna last a tenth as long.

Probably not. Though my current residence being mostly concrete block and steel might if let alone./quote]
No, it won't. Acid rain and air pollution will see to it.
concrete isn't that long-lasting...

kojikun · Post by **kojikun** » 2003-09-26 08:11am

GAP: Roman bridges and aqueducts are still in use in Italy and southern France. I think some old Greek and Roman amphitheatres are still used, but not the larger ones. The Pantheon has been open to use ever since it was completed in 126. Roman roads all over the place have been kept up and have been used regularly for the last 2000 years. It's kind of cool when you think about it -- You can walk around, touch, see, and live where Cincinnatus ruled, where Caesar and Pompeii lived, where the history of the modern world was born.. Living history.

Keevan_Colton · Post by **Keevan_Colton** » 2003-09-26 08:31am

Hm, my house has already clocked up more than a tenth as long....welcome to europe home of the history

Then again, some of the houses hereabouts have managed the better part of half a millenia without trouble.

As for the wall....gee, the possibility of thousands killing each other over a pile of rubble....we really are such a highly evolved and intelligent species....

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-09-26 08:36am

I'd be amused by people attempting to worship attop an unstable pile of rubble.

kojikun · Post by **kojikun** » 2003-09-26 08:47am

Keevan_Colton wrote:Hm, my house has already clocked up more than a tenth as long....welcome to europe home of the history Then again, some of the houses hereabouts have managed the better part of half a millenia without trouble.

man if those things are ~500 years old as you say then theyre seen alot of modern history.

Keevan_Colton · Post by **Keevan_Colton** » 2003-09-26 09:08am

Ayr as a town dates back to 1197 which is the first time it appears in records. It became a royal burgh in 1205. There's some half ruins locally that are thought to be part of the castle dating back to then. There's also Greenon Castle, Dunure Castle, Culzean Castle...all nice old buildings....
There's also Burn's Cottage, the birth place of Robert Burns....most of the houses in the town centre area are well over the 200 years old mark.

Patrick Degan · Post by **Patrick Degan** » 2003-09-26 10:53am

Darth Wong wrote:Why don't they just take the opportunity to shore up the foundations, pour fresh concrete, add steel reinforcements, etc.? While they're at it, as long as they're violating the sanctity of the place anyway, they can add neon lights so people can worship at night, running water for a childrens' waterpark, and of course, a drive-through donut shop.

Hmm... the Waters of Strife children's theme park...

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-09-26 09:24pm

Patrick Degan wrote:
Hmm... the Waters of Strife children's theme park...

Do you think the Potato Sack Slide of Eternal Damnation would get many riders?

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-09-26 09:28pm

They could also have one of those guys who balances shit on his chin dress up as Jesus and balance a giant cross to amuse the crowd.

Xenophobe3691 · Post by **Xenophobe3691** » 2003-09-26 11:51pm

Durran Korr wrote:They could also have one of those guys who balances shit on his chin dress up as Jesus and balance a giant cross to amuse the crowd.

Put a guy dressing up as Jesus on a mount disputed by Muslims and Jews. Do you WANT this flashpoint to blow?