photo 9 of 151 Great Mosque of Damascus (Umayyad Mosque):
Umayyad Mosque, Damascus.  Umayyad Mosque, Damascus.  Damascus
is believed to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the
world and the Umayyad Mosque stands on a site that has been
considered sacred ground for at least 3,000 years. The Umayyad
Mosque, also known as the Grand Mosque of Damascus, is one of
the largest and oldest mosques in the world, being completed in
715 AD. The spot where the mosque now stands was a temple of
Hadad in the Aramean era. The site was later a temple of Jupiter
in the Roman era, then a Christian church dedicated to John the
Baptist in the Byzantine era, before finally becoming a mosque.
Credit: jemasmith / Flickr