Herod artificially created the highest mountain in Midbar Yehuda, and built upon it his Herodion palace. In Caesarea, he built an artificial harbor with towers far into the sea, which fell centuries later and now lay on the bottom of the sea. In Matzada we see the remnants of his palace, which was hanging over the cliff. His building projects are typified by miraculous architectures.
Chazal say that who did not see the Temple of Herod, never saw a beautiful building. In view of the greatness of his other building projects, how can this be?
Herod extended Har Moriah, in two ways. Around the top of the mountain, he build high walls which are largely still extant. They contain the artificial mount that was the basis for his fort Antonia. South of this, Herod built an artificial mount contained by a square of walls. The mount extended from upon the shoulder of Har Moriah towards the South and the East. The southern and eastern walls of this square arose from the depth of the valleys below. Herod built his Temple in the North-West corner of the square mount, on a flat area of the ridge of Har Moriah, on Aravna's Goren, the site of Ezra's Temple, which Herod broke down.
As Herod's Temple mount has been destroyed entirely, whereas the walls of fort Antonia are, with significant renovations, still standing, the identities of the two mounts became confused. Today, Makom HaMikdash and Makom HaMizbeach are not occupied by mosques or by the Moslem Waqf. The main occupiers of the holiest place on Earth are the United Nations.
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