Hopefully I will be able to come to this place again. The great Mesjid built in the beginning of the 8th century is a real icon for the Islamic world. It is one of the most beautiful mosque, built at the height of the Umayyad Dynasty when Damascus was the centre of the great empire which stretched from Spain to the border of India.The compound was quiet but once inside there was already a good crowd of the faithfuls waiting for the prayer to start.
This mesjid also shares great importance to the Shiites and the Christians. At one corner is the tomb of Iman Hussein, the grandson of our Prophet, which is a pilgrimage site for the Shi'a or Shiites. In the middle of the mosque is the relic of Nabi Yahya or to the Christian John the Baptist. At the back of the mosque is located the tomb of the great and most respectable warrior Saladin.
The Syrians in general are fiercely Sunnis, but the ruling family are from the Alawis, a Shi'a sect that originates from the northwest part of the country. The Alawis dominate the government. There are many religious literature one could read both in Malay and English about Shi'a and Alawis. The Alawis does not have their own mosque. Most of the mosques in Damascus are Sunni with a very few being Shi'a. If one is familiar with the Druze of Lebanon, historically both the Druze and the Alawis are similar. They were both formed from an earlier split from the ShiĘża. Just as a snapshot, I cut and paste from wiki the following paragraph that describes the Alawis.
"The doctrines date from the ninth century A.D. and derive from the Twelver or Imami branch of Shi'a Islam (the sect that predominates in Iran). In about A.D. 859, one Ibn Nusayr declared himself the bab ("gateway to truth"), a key figure in Shi'a theology. On the basis of this authority, Ibn Nusayr proclaimed a host of new doctrines which, to make a long story short, make Alawism into a separate religion. According to Ibn Kathir, where Muslims proclaim their faith with the phrase "There is no deity but God and Muhammad is His prophet," Alawis assert "There is no deity but 'Ali, no veil but Muhammad, and no bab but Salman." According to Twelver Shi'as Muhammad al-Mahdi is the final Imam of the Twelve Imams and the Mahdi, the ultimate savior of humankind. Other Shi'a schools, along with Sunnis, do not consider ibn-al-Hasan as the Mahdi. Twelver Shias believe that al-Mahdi was born in 869 and has been hidden by God to later emerge with Jesus (Nabi Isa) in order to fulfill their mission of bringing peace and justice to the world."
Ok enough of that. Moving around in Damascus is quite easy. The place is safe and taxis are dirt cheap. A typical metered ride normally cost between 20 to 50 syps or Syrian pounds which is equivalent to 30 to 80 euro cents or $B0.70 to 1.70. But normaly we just pay them 100 to 200 syps. Taxis are a plenty, the streets literaly awash with yellow cabs, but can come in various conditions. There are plenty of good ones to choose.
The Syrians in general are fiercely Sunnis, but the ruling family are from the Alawis, a Shi'a sect that originates from the northwest part of the country. The Alawis dominate the government. There are many religious literature one could read both in Malay and English about Shi'a and Alawis. The Alawis does not have their own mosque. Most of the mosques in Damascus are Sunni with a very few being Shi'a. If one is familiar with the Druze of Lebanon, historically both the Druze and the Alawis are similar. They were both formed from an earlier split from the ShiĘża. Just as a snapshot, I cut and paste from wiki the following paragraph that describes the Alawis."The doctrines date from the ninth century A.D. and derive from the Twelver or Imami branch of Shi'a Islam (the sect that predominates in Iran). In about A.D. 859, one Ibn Nusayr declared himself the bab ("gateway to truth"), a key figure in Shi'a theology. On the basis of this authority, Ibn Nusayr proclaimed a host of new doctrines which, to make a long story short, make Alawism into a separate religion. According to Ibn Kathir, where Muslims proclaim their faith with the phrase "There is no deity but God and Muhammad is His prophet," Alawis assert "There is no deity but 'Ali, no veil but Muhammad, and no bab but Salman." According to Twelver Shi'as Muhammad al-Mahdi is the final Imam of the Twelve Imams and the Mahdi, the ultimate savior of humankind. Other Shi'a schools, along with Sunnis, do not consider ibn-al-Hasan as the Mahdi. Twelver Shias believe that al-Mahdi was born in 869 and has been hidden by God to later emerge with Jesus (Nabi Isa) in order to fulfill their mission of bringing peace and justice to the world."
Ok enough of that. Moving around in Damascus is quite easy. The place is safe and taxis are dirt cheap. A typical metered ride normally cost between 20 to 50 syps or Syrian pounds which is equivalent to 30 to 80 euro cents or $B0.70 to 1.70. But normaly we just pay them 100 to 200 syps. Taxis are a plenty, the streets literaly awash with yellow cabs, but can come in various conditions. There are plenty of good ones to choose. 
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