A day of ziyara in Damascus: from the Umayyad Mosque to Sayyida Zaynab

Four stops, one day of ziyara. The route starts at the Umayyad Mosque, moves to the mirrored shrine north of the old city, carries on in the cemetery outside the southern gate, and ends at Sayyida Zaynab, 12 kilometres south of the centre. The first three are within walking distance; the last needs a car. All four are working places of visitation, so much of what follows is about conduct.

The route

Begin at the Umayyad Mosque. The prayer hall holds the shrine attributed to John the Baptist, which makes this one of the few buildings visited by two faiths, and two further shrines inside the premises commemorate Husayn ibn Ali. Leave by the north gate and walk five minutes through narrow lanes — the blue tiled front of the Sayyida Ruqayya mosque appears without warning. The direction turns south from here. Cross the line of the souq and drop to Bab al-Saghir: 1500 metres, about twenty minutes. The cemetery lies outside the gate on both sides of the road; the entrances are open and there is no door. The last stop needs a vehicle. The town of Sayyida Zaynab is 10 kilometres south of the cemetery, half an hour depending on traffic, and naming the town is enough for a driver.

Timing

08:30 at the Umayyad Mosque: the courtyard is empty and the mosaics open up in low light. 10:00 at Sayyida Ruqayya — convoys thicken in the afternoon, and in the morning there is time to sit inside and look. 11:30 at the cemetery; some of the shrines close over midday, so go in early. Set off at 13:00 and be at Sayyida Zaynab around 13:30. The courtyard fills at the afternoon prayer, so take either the hour before or the hour after. Count on the evening traffic for the way back, which can easily double the time.

Take care

None of the four is a museum. Bring your own covering rather than relying on what is handed out at the door. Shoes come off inside, so socks help. At Sayyida Zaynab there is a security search at the entrance; allow time for the queue. Ask before photographing people, as the ground around a shrine is a place of prayer and the rules differ from one site to the next. Burials still take place in the cemetery: if there is a funeral, step back. Most of the attributions at Bab al-Saghir rest on tradition and the sources do not agree; listening to what you are told, as it is told, works better than arguing it.