The Al-Iman Mosque

In Mazraa, outside the Old City. Its single wide dome and slim minaret show up between the apartment blocks, with the slope of Mount Qasioun behind them. This is not a monument but a working neighbourhood mosque, and some of the busiest teaching circles in Damascus meet here. It is not on the sightseeing lists; most people who come are coming to a lesson.

Getting there

In the Mazraa district, on Usama bin Zayd Street. It is too far to walk from the Old City, so take a taxi. The district mixes flats and offices; the mosque is on the street itself and hard to miss.

What happens here

This is a teaching mosque. Sheikh Muhammad Naim al-Arqsusi reads hadith collections here, above all Sahih al-Bukhari. After the dawn prayer on Friday a circle of remembrance called al-Safa gathers, and a lesson follows it. In earlier years Muhammad Said Ramadan al-Bouti taught the Hikam of Ibn Ata Allah here, and there were classes in Shafii law for women.

The attack of 2013

On 21 March 2013 a bomb went off in the mosque while a lesson was under way. At least 42 people were killed and 84 injured. Al-Bouti and his grandson were among the dead. Who carried out the attack is still disputed. The building was not destroyed, and the mosque stayed open along with its lessons.

What to know

This is a mosque in use, not a site to tour. It fills up at lesson times. Come in quietly and stand at the back; ask before taking photographs.