Petrus Diaconus, REGARDING THE HOLY PLACES, 1137 C.E.
PETRI DIACONI, LIBER DE LOCIS SANCTIS
PATROLOGIA LATINA, Vol. CLXXIII, §§ 1120-1121.
Translated by Arnold vander Nat, 2001
[ During the Crusader occupation of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, the Crusaders renamed The Dome of the Rock as The Temple of the Lord, and also proclaimed that this building was the original Temple of God built by Solomon. They also identified the al-Aqsa Mosque as the temple of the palace of Solomon. Hence the terminology below. ]
Subtus autem monte calvariae contra orientem est templum domini ex alia parte civitatis, quod salomon aedificavit. Quatuor portas habet, prima ab oriente, secunda ab occidente, tertia a meridie, quarta ab aquilone, quae habent significationem quatuor partium mundi. De foris vero octo angulos habet; per unumquodque angulum duodecim passus volvitur.
Moreover, below Mount Calvary, directly east, from the other part of the city, is the Temple of the Lord, which Solomon made. It has four gates, the first from the east, the second from the west, the third from the south, and the fourth from the north, which represent the four parts of the world. Also, on the outside it has eight arches, and through the arch of one of these there are twelve paces.
In medium templi est mons magnus circumdatus parietibus, in quo tabernaculum, illic et arca testamenti fuit, quae a vespasiano imperatore, destructo templo, romae delata est. A latere vero sinistro tabernaculi super saxum posuit dominus iesus christus pedem suum quando eum simeon accepit in ulnis, et ita remansit pes sculptus ibidem, ac si in cera positus esset. Ab alio vero latere saxi est tabernaculum apertum, in quo per gradus viginti duo ascenditur. Ibi dominus orabat, ibi et zacharias sacrificabat. Extra templum locus est ubi zacharias filius barachiae interfectus est. Super saxum in medio templi pendet candela aurea, in qua est sanguis christi, qui per petram scissam descendit.
In the middle of the Temple is a great rock surrounded by walls, in which is the tabernacle, and therein the ark of the covenant was, which by Emperor Vespasian, with the temple destroyed, was carried off to Rome. To the left side of the tabernacle, on the rock, the Lord Jesus Christ put his foot when Simeon took him in his arms, and there remains there a carved foot, as if it had been placed in wax. Also, to the other side of the rock is the uncovered tabernacle, in which one ascends through twenty two steps. There the Lord prayed, and there Zacharias made sacrifices. Outside the temple is the place where Zacharias son of Barachias was killed. Above the rock in the middle of the temple hangs a golden candle, in which is the blood of Christ and which descends through the torn rock.
Contra meridiem autem, non longe, templum salomonis, in quo habitavit, constructum est; in quo sunt portae viginti quinque; intus habet columnas trecentas sexaginta duo, et subtus non longe cunabula christi, et balneum eius, et lectum sanctae dei genitricis. Subtus templum domini ab oriente est porta speciosa, unde dominus intravit sedens super pullum asinae. Ibi et petrus claudum sanavit. Contra aquilonem est ecclesia sanctae annae, ubi tribus annis beata maria nutrita fuit. Prope vero est probatica piscina, quae quinque porticus habet. In vicinia autem templi est bethsaida piscina; gemino insignis lacu apparet, quorum alter hibernis plerumque impletur imbribus, alter rubris est discolor aquis.
Also, over against the south, not far away, the Palace of Solomon was built, in which he lived; in which there are twenty-five portals; inside it has three hundred sixty-two columns, and below, not far away, the cradle of Christ, and his bath, and the bed of the holy Mother of God. Below the Temple of the Lord to the east is the Beautiful Gate, from where the Lord entered sitting on a young ass. And there Peter healed the lame. Directly north is the Church of Saint Anne, where the blessed Mary was nourished for three years. And, nearby is the Probatica pool, which has five porticos. In the vicinity of the Temple is the Bethsaida pool; it appears distinguished by a double pool, the one of which is mostly filled by the winter rains, the other is discolored with reddish waters . . . .