The country is also experiencing a sort of economic revival and a quasi economic reform movement that is tempered by entrenched political and economic interests. However, this is not the forum for such a discussion. However, let me ask this: how many mosques around the world do we know house a mausoleum for a Christian saint? What about a baptism font? Is there a mosque that has four Mihrabs (niches), one for each of the four schools of Sunna, and also a Shiaa mazar for Sayyedna Alhussain? The Umayyad Mosque in Damascus has all that and more. St. John the Baptist (Prophet Yahya for Muslims) is buried in the middle of the mosque! Really! Actually, the Umayyad mosque was split in two: one side for Muslims and another for Christians, until the Khalifa bought the Christian side and expanded the mosque.
Did you know that Muslims built the first Me'thana (prayer call minaret) after they saw the church tower there. One of the Ummayad Mosque's minarets is still called Me'thanat Jesus. The Mehrab was copied from the Christian niche.
Here are some pictures:
Inside the Ummayad Mosque
This is the Minaret of Jesus
The beautiful Sayyeda Ruqaiyah Mosque
The Souk
