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The great 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, relics of both John the Baptist and the Islamic
warrior Salahuddin Al-Ayyubi, but its roots lie in pagan worship practised
some 2000 years ago. Inscriptions record 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 in its place. 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
inscriptions, 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 present day visitors, notably 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.
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