The Umayyad Mosque is the major tourist site in Damascus |
Umayyad Mosque rising behind the Citadel of Damascus |
Mosquée des Omayyad - built by Caliph Al Walid 705 AD (86 A.H.) |
Western front of the Umayyad Mosque |
Minaret of Qayt Bey 15th C. |
Southwest minaret named after a Mameluke Sultan |
Umayyad Mosque, Damascus |
Minaret of Qayt Bey |
Umayyad Mosque |
This site has been shrine dedicated to the Aramaean god Haddad, the Roman god Jupiter, and the basilica of St. John the Baptist |
Southern façade of the Umayyad Mosque, Damascus |
Minaret of the Bride (north) 9th Century |
The upper Minaret of the Bride is 12th Century |
The Shrine of Saladin is next to the Umayyad Mosque and included in the same ticket |
Saladin (Salahuddin Al-Ayyubi, Salah ad-Din) 1138-1193 |
Dome of the Shrine of Saladin, Damascus |
Saladin, Sultan of Egypt and Syria, a Kurd from Tikrit (Iraq) |
Tomb of Saladin, the original, and the new one donated by Kaiser Wilhelm II |
Saladin is a hero in the Arab world for recapturing Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187 after 88 years of Occupation |
Saladin |
Reminders that Damascus was long part of the Turkish Ottoman Empire |
Minaret of the Bridge, Umayyad Mosque, Damascus |
The first glimpse of the mosaic covered main prayer hall from the northern entrance |
SyriaMay07 160.jpg |
Umayyad Mosque completed in 715 AD |
Magnificient stone floor, Umayyad Mosque, Damascus |
Main prayer hall, Umayyad Mosque |
Mosaics, Umayyad Mosque |
Umayyad Mosque |
Lighting fixture, Umayyad Mosque |
Minbar, Umayyad Mosque |
Main dome, Umayyad Mosque |
Main dome, Umayyad Mosque |
Mihrab, Umayyad Mosque |
Roof over the mihrab, Umayyad Mosque, Damascus |
Stained glass windows, Umayyad Mosque, Damascus |
Shrine of St. John the Baptist, said to contain his head |
Pope John Paul II came to see the shrine in 2001, the first pope to visit a mosque |
The Shrine of St. John the Baptist, Damascus |
SyriaMay07 501.jpg |
Iranian pilgrims headed for the tomb of Imam Hussein ibn Ali (626-680) |
Shi'ite pilgrims |
Hall outside the Tomb of Hussein |
Dome of the Tomb of Hussein |
Tomb of Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed |
Hussein was killed at the Battle of Karbala sealing the schism between Shia and Sunnis |
The head of Hussein is said to rest in Damascus while his body remains in Karbala |
The shrine said to contain the head of Hussein |
Female western tourist |
Dome of the Clocks, Umayyad Mosque |
Minaret of Jesus, Umayyad Mosque |
Eastern side of the courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque, Damascsu |
The Shrine of Hussein |
SyriaMay07 215.jpg |
SyriaMay07 216.jpg |
Ablution Fountain, Umayyad Mosque |
The Umayyad Mosque ablution fountain is said to mark the halfway point between Istanbul and Mecca |
The northern side of the Umayyad Mosque |
SyriaMay07 227.jpg |
Main prayer hall, Umayyad Mosque, Damascus |
Southeast corner of the Umayyad Mosque courtyard |
Main prayer hall and ablution fountain |
8th Century mosaics, main prayer hall |
8th Century mosaics, main prayer hall |
The Islamic mosaics in the Umayyad mosque show architecture and plants |
Umayyad mosque mosaics, said to depict Paradise |
Umayyad Mosque, Damascus |
Umayyad Mosque, Damascus |
Umayyad Mosque, Damascus |
Umayyad Mosque, Damascus |
Umayyad Mosque, Damascus |
Mosaics on the side of the main prayer hall |
Mosaics on the side of the main prayer hall |
Umayyad Mosque, Damascus |
Umayyad Mosque, Damascus |
Syrian family visiting the Umayyad Mosque |
Man sweeping the marble floor with a palm branch |
Main prayer hall seen through the Bab al Amara |
Umayyad Mosque, Damascus |
Umayyad Mosque, Damascus |
Minaret of Jesus (1247) said to be the site where Jesus will return to earth |
Main dome, Umayyad Mosque |
Northern arcade, Umayyad Mosque |
Umayyad Mosque from the northeast corner |
Domes of the Umayyad Mosque, Damascus |
Courtyard, Umayyad Mosque |
Northwest corner of the courtyard, Umayyad Mosque |
Umayyad Mosque, Damascus |
Treasury, Umayyad Mosque |
13th Century mosaics on the Treasury |
13th Century mosaics on the Treasury |
13th Century mosaics on the Treasury |
Treasury, Umayyad Mosque |
Treasury, Umayyad Mosque |
Mosaics along the western arcade |
Western arcarde, Umayyad Mosque |
Western entrance, Umayyad Mosque |
Mosaic located above the western gate to the Umayyad Mosque |
Mosaic located above the western gate to the Umayyad Mosque |
Southern side of the main prayer hall |
SyriaMay07 539.jpg |
Minaret of Jesus, Umayyad Mosque |
Minaret of Jesus, Umayyad Mosque, Damascus |
Minaret of Sultan Qait Bay 1488 |
Minaret of Sultan Qait Bay, Umayyad Mosque, Damascus |
Western facade, Umayyad Mosque |
Western facade, Umayyad Mosque |
Minaret of Jesus at night |
Minaret of Jesus at night |
Minaret of Jesus at night |
Minaret of Qait Bay at night |
Umayyad Mosque at night |
Western facade of the Umayyad Mosque at night, Damascus |
Minaret of the Bride, Umayyad MOsque |