The Wailing Wall (as it is known in the West) or Western Wall (derived from , often shortened to the Kotel or Kosel), known in Islam as the Buraq Wall (Arabic: "Ḥā'iṭ al-Burāq" حَائِط ٱلْبُرَاق ), 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 huge rectangular structure topped by a flat platform, thus creating more space for the Temple itself, its auxiliary buildings, and crowds of worshipers and visitors.