SYRIA: Umayyad Mosque 

                                 

Photographer: Christine Osborne

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The Umayyad Mosque is surrounded by the bustling souqs of the Syrian capital Damascus. Historically it is sacred to both Christians and Muslims containing as it does the relics of both John the Baptist and the Islamic warrior Salahuddin Al-Ayyubi. but its roots lie in pagan worship practised by the Aramaeans some 200 years ago. Inscriptions tell us that Roman legions built a huge temple on the site  dedicated  to the God Jupiter. Byzantine rulers subsequently erected a church which was shared with Muslim worshippers following the Arab conquest of Damascus. The Caliph Walid 1 ordered its demolition and a new mosque was ordered as befitting the great city of Damascus. The Umayyad Mosque, raised in the early 8th century, became the biggest Muslim house of worship in the world. Lavishly embellished with gold-worked mural mosaics and Qur`anic verses, its vast prayer hall supported on massive Corinthian columns was designed so that the mihrab  prayer niche could be seen by every worshipper. The mosque was severely fire damaged in 1893 but extensive works in 1970 have restored it for today`s visitors who are mainly Sh`ite pilgrims. On his visit to Syria in 2001 Pope John Paul II came to pray at the shrine to St John marking the first occasion that a Christian pope had ever set foot in a mosque. The entire ancient city of Damascus was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1979.