Also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus, this is one of the world's largest and oldest, finished in 715 and named for the Ummayad Caliphate during which it was built. Also considered the fourth holiest site in the Islamic world (after the mosques of Makka/Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem), it has three high domes; three minarets; a large courtyard with several domed pavillions; and an interior adorned with marble paneling, ornate grilles, and elaborate mosaics. One interesting note: there´s also a shrine to St. John the Baptist, whose decapitated head was supposedly discovered in a cave chapel here during construction.
Read more in Tripatini contributor Adnan Ijaz´post 10 of the World´s Most Magnificent Mosques.
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