Amazing photos/videos! So that's what the view looks like from the big golden dome. Why was that fellow barefoot in the first few pics?

Great pics thanks.

How many times have I missed out on going up now?

frumhouse- one cannot wear leather shoes on har habayit. Rafi can do a better job explaining about barefoot vs. non-leather shoes (related to the fact that the kohanim served barefoot in the bet hamikdash).

actually it predates the kohanic service in the beit hamikdash... when moshe went on the mountain with the burning bush Hashem tells him to remove his shoes because the ground is holy. On holy ground we do nto wear shoes. I am not really sure why not, meanign what does God have against leather.

In the bet hamikdash they did not wear shoes, but also not socks. We can wear non-leather shoes on har habayit, just like on yom kippur and tisha b'av. non-leather shoes do not have the status pf "shoes".

As you can see in the picture, some went barefoot, some wore socks (myself included) and some wore non-leather shoes. When the weather gets a little warmer, I will go barefoot.

Thanks for the explanation.