The Umayyad Mosque, also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus is located in the heart of the old city. The most visually dramatic way to reach the mosque is to walk through the central path of the Hamidiyah Marketplace. (You'll understand why once you're there.) Ruins of the Roman Temple of Jupiter still stand erect around the mosque providing a reminder of just how old the site actually is.

The mosque itself is of particular importance in Islamic history. Renowned in medieval manuscripts for its beauty and scale of construction, the mosque articulated to the world the rising power of the Islamic Empire. A must-see when in Damascus.