 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 |