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Omayyad Mosque, Damascus

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Omayyad Mosque, Damascus
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Omayyad Mosque
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Damascus Omayyad Mosque ReviewsTips 1 - 10 of 77  
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Omayyad Mosque: Faith through the ages
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  • Updated By TheWanderingCamel on April 24, 2005
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  • Mosque courtyard - Damascus
    Mosque courtyard
    by TheWanderingCamel
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    The great Omayyad mosque of Damascus is is a building that inspires awe and wonder. Set within walls parts of which date back to a Roman temple, it sits on ground that has been considered holy for millenia. Although essentially a Sunni mosque it contains shrines of the utmost importance to Shiia (it is said to contain the head of the martyr, Hussein) and to Christians (another head, this time of John the Baptist). So here, across the flawless white marble courtyard where no shoe treads and under the cool arcades whose mosaics were first laid by Greek artisans from Constantinople in the 8th Century, you will see believers of all three persuasions making their way to the part of the mosque that means most to them.

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  • Address: Old City
  • Directions: Tourists enter through the north gate. Women (and men in shorts) are required to wear a gown that is provided at a small fee. You must also take your shoes off (leave them with the gate keeper) before crossing the threshold of the mosque.

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    Omayyad Mosque: Umayyad Mosque
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  • Updated By MalenaN on April 10, 2005
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  • Umayyad Mosque in Damascus - Damascus
    Umayyad Mosque in
    Damascus
    by MalenaN
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    The Umayyad Mosque is one of the most important Islamic buildings. It’s built on the place where there was a temple built already 900 BC. Later a church was built there and after the Muslims came a mosque was built, first just a smaller one but then a grand impressive mosque was built. Much has been destroyed during the years and much of what you see today is rebuilt after a big fire 1893. There is a special tourist entrance where you pay and where women get a brown robe to wear. Next to the entrance is the mausoleum of Salah ad-Din (1138-93, fought against the crusaders).

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  • Directions: In Damascus Old City, at the end of Souq Hamidiyya.

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    Omayyad Mosque: A tomb for a warrior
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  • Updated By TheWanderingCamel on January 29, 2007
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  • Saladin's tomb - Damascus
    Saladin's tomb
    by TheWanderingCamel
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    The Mausoleum of Saladin, great Kurdish leader of the Saracens, is situated in a small garden beside the Great Mosque. Inside the simple building, with its melon-ribbed dome, you will find two tombs - the original simple wooden tomb in which the great warrior was laid, now enclosed in a glass case, and an ornate white marble edifice, the gift of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany in the late 19th Century, to replace the original which had deteriorated badly by then. As Saladin himself was reputed to be, the mausoleum is dignified and unostentatious.., and Saladin still lies in his old wooden tomb, the florid gift of a foreign king would never have been his style.

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  • Directions: In the garden along the north side of the Mosque.

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    Omayyad Mosque: A place for prayer
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  • Updated By TheWanderingCamel on April 24, 2005
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  • Room for all - Damascus
    Room for all
    by TheWanderingCamel
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    The Prayer Hall of the Great Mosque is vast, a great, simple space full of light and colour. Stained glass windows high up in the walls spill red and blue, yellow and green light onto the carpets that cover the floor. The interior is essentialy a 19thC Ottoman structure but remnants of the original mosque remain in the windows at both ends and some lovely wood panelling in the ceiling. The domed shrine marks the supposed burial place of John the Baptist. Take some time to sit quietly on the floor and contemplate this magnificent building and reflect on the history of this most holy place.

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  • Address: Omayyad Mosque, Old City

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    Omayyad Mosque: A shrine for a martyr
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  • By TheWanderingCamel on April 12, 2005
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  • Hussein's shrine - Damascus
    Hussein's shrine
    by TheWanderingCamel
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    The constant stream of chador-clad women and soberly-dressed men you see heading across the courtyard of the Great Mosque are Iranian pilgrims, come to visit one of the most important Shiite shrines - that of Hussein, the Shia's Third Imam, grandson of the Prophet, the Martyr of Kerbala. They have come to pray at the shrine which is said to contain his head - the locus of which is the heavily-embossed silver plaque on the wall of the inner room. Non-Muslims, men and women, may enter the shrine.

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  • Directions: In the east corner of the courtyard.

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    Omayyad Mosque: Treasure box
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  • Updated By TheWanderingCamel on April 24, 2005
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  • A treasure box indeed - Damascus
    A treasure box indeed
    by TheWanderingCamel
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    To the left of the main entrance of the Omayyad Mosque, like a little jewelled box glowing with exquisite mosaics, the structure known as the Dome of the Treasury sits atop 8 columns with Corinthian capitals. It dates to about 790AD though the columns are much older Roman work and the mosaics are thought to have been restored in the 13th Century.

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    Omayyad Mosque: Minarets
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  • Updated By MalenaN on April 10, 2005
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  • Minaret of the Umayyad Mosque - Damascus
    Minaret of the Umayyad
    Mosque
    by MalenaN,
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    Al-Gharbiyya minaret is the minaret in the south-west corner of the Umayyad Mosque (in the picture). The other two minarets of the mosque are the Minaret of the Bride and Minaret of Jesus. They all date back 1300 years but have been restored during the years.

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  • Address: Umayyad Mosque, in the souk

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    Omayyad Mosque: The courtyard
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  • Updated By MalenaN on April 9, 2005
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  • Umayyad Mosque in Damascus - Damascus
    Umayyad Mosque in Damascus
    by MalenaN, 1 more photos
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    The courtyard is big and in one way made me think of Piazza San Marco in Venice. There are quite a lot of pigeons. Around the courtyard people are sitting eating or just relaxing. It is a peaceful place. There is a big beautiful gold mosaic on one of the walls. Beside the courtyard is the shrine of Husseini. Another shrine, the one of John the Baptist, is in the big prayer hall.

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    Omayyad Mosque: Omayyad mosque
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  • By Bavavia on May 19, 2004
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  • Omayyad Mosque - Damascus
    Omayyad Mosque
    by Bavavia, 2 more photos
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    This mosque goes back almost 3000 years..It is mentioned in the Old Testament (When the aramaens built a temple to Hadad, one of their gods). Inside is a shrine to St. John where they say he is buried. This mosque is very impressive in its size and beautiful design...

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    Omayyad Mosque: Omayyad Mosque in Damascus
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  • By photonina on October 16, 2006
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  • Omayyad Mosque - Damascus
    by photonina, 1 more photos
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    Omayyad Mosque is just beautiful! This is huge mosque in the old part of Damascus. It's not difficult to find the place. If you'll enter old city from the Hamidia Souk entrance you'll just face the mosque as soon as you get out of the market.

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