Umayyad Mosque facts for kids

The Umayyad Mosque in the center of Damascus by night

The Grand Mosque of Damascus, also known as the Umayyad Mosque (Arabic: جامع بني أمية الكبير, transl. Ğām' Banī 'Umayyah al-Kabīr), is one of the largest and oldest mosques in the world.It is in one of the holiest sites in the old city of Damascus. It is also very important because of its architecture.

The mosque holds a shrine which is said to contain the head of John the Baptist (Yahya), honored as a prophet by Muslims and Christians alike. The head was supposedly found during the excavations for the building of the mosque. The tomb of Saladin stands in a small garden adjoining the north wall of the mosque.

In 2001, Pope John Paul II visited the mosque, primarily to visit the relics of John the Baptist. It was the first time a pope paid a visit to a mosque.

Images for kids

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  The Umayyad Mosque at night

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  The Dome of the Clock was built in 780

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  The Dome of the Treasury was built in 789

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  The Minaret of Qaitbay was constructed in 1488 on the orders of Mamluk sultan Qaitbay

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  1842 daguerreotype by Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey (the earliest photography of the site)

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  1862 photograph of the main prayer hall facade, from the courtyard looking south-east, with the Minaret of prophet Isa in the background

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  Umayyad Mosque's Courtyard at night, view towards north-west with the Minaret of the Bride to the right.

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  The Minaret of the Bride was the first minaret built for the mosque

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  The Minaret of Jesus ('Isa) is the mosque's tallest minaret

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  Shrine purportedly housing the head of Prophet Yahya (John the Baptist).

See also

In Spanish: Mezquita de los Omeyas para niños