What is Umayyad Mosque?
[[File:Umayyad Mosque Damascus.jpg|right|thumb|250px|The [[Umayyad]] Mosque in the center of Damascus by night]] The '''Grand Mosque of Damascus''', also known as the '''Umayyad Mosque''' ([[Arabic language|Arabic]]: جامع بني أمية الكبير, [[Arabic transliteration|transl.]] ''Ğām' Banī 'Umayyah al-Kabīr''), is one of the largest and oldest [[mosque]]s 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 == <gallery> Image:StJohnTheBaptistShrine Damascus 1943.jpg|The Shrine with the head of St. John the Baptist Image:StJohnInUmmayad.jpg|John the Baptist (or Yahya)'s Shrine inside the Mosque Image:Umayyad Mosque-Dome of the Treasury.jpg|The courtyard of the Mosque with the ancient Treasury (Beit al Mal) Image:Syria, Damascus, The Umayyad Mosque.jpg Syria, Damascus, The Umayyad Mosque, Islam in Syria.jpg Damascus, Syria, The Umayyad Mosque, Great Mosque of Banu Umayya.jpg </gallery>{{Geo-stub}} [[Category:Damascus]] [[Category:Holy places in Islam]] [[Category:Mosques in Asia]] [[Category:8th-century buildings and structures]]