The Mausoleum of Saladin
A small domed tomb against the north wall of the Umayyad Mosque. Two cenotaphs stand inside, and which one is real is the surprising part.
- Opening hours
- Same as the mosque's visiting hours
- Entry
- Free
- Duration
- 20 minutes
- Best time
- Straight after the mosque visit
- Period
- Ayyubid
- Address
- North wall of the Umayyad Mosque, Old City, Damascus
Saladin died in Damascus in 1193; the tomb was built three years later, in 1196. It is a small, domed, unshowy room leaning against the north wall of the Umayyad Mosque — and the plainness is deliberate.
Getting there
Out of the north door of the Umayyad Mosque and a few steps on. Most people who visit the mosque do not use that door and never see the tomb.
Do not miss
Two cenotaphs stand side by side inside. The one in walnut wood is the actual grave; the marble one was a gift from Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, who visited Damascus in 1898. So of the two in the room the showy one is empty and the plain one is real — and a visitor who does not know assumes exactly the opposite.
How long it takes
Twenty minutes. The room is small; the point is not to linger but not to miss it while visiting the mosque.
Tips
- Leave the mosque by the north door; any other door and you will miss the tomb
- The walnut cenotaph is the actual grave; the marble one was a gift in 1898 and is empty
- The room is small and low; at busy hours there may be a queue