Mosque of Omar

About Mosque of Omar

Mosque of Omar — mosque in the Islamic Quarter of Jerusalem. Located in Jerusalem, Palestine.

The Mosque of Omar is a small historic mosque in the Muristan area of the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Al-Quds, directly opposite the southern courtyard of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It is named after the caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab and commemorates the tradition that, when he took the city in 637 and was invited to pray inside the church, he declined so that Muslims after him would not turn it into a mosque, and prayed instead at a spot nearby. The present building was completed in the Ayyubid period and is attributed to al-Afdal, son of Salah ad-Din, in the late twelfth century; its minaret was rebuilt under the Mamluks. That minaret faces the minaret of the Khanqah Salahiyya mosque on the other side of the church, a pairing that expresses the close neighbourliness of mosque and church in the heart of the city. The mosque is not open to tourists; access is for prayer only, but its facade and minaret are clearly seen from the courtyard of the Holy Sepulchre.

Where:

Jerusalem, Palestine