• Home

The Complete Pilgrim - Religious Travel Sites

Howard Kramer's, The Complete Pilgrim, Religious Travel Site

  • AMERICAN RELIGIOUS SITES
  • CHRISTIAN SITES
  • JEWISH SITES
  • CATHOLIC SITES
  • INDIAN/HINDU SITES
  • HOLIDAY SITES
  • CASTLES
  • BATTLEFIELDS
  • MOUNTAINS
  • NATURE
  • WILDLIFE SITES
  • PHOTO GALLERIES
  • ARCHIVES
  • ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

MAUSOLEUM OF SALADIN

April 14, 2015 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Damascus, Syria

Between the end of the Rashidun Caliphate and the modern day, there has been no greater Islamic political figure than Saladin Yusuf ibn Ayyub.  Saladin, one of the most gifted and respected leaders and military commanders in history, rallied the Islamic world in one of its darkest hours to a tremendous strategic victory over the combined Christian armies of Europe.  He went on to reunite much of the Islamic Empire under the banner of the Ayyubid dynasty, and his subsequent reign is remembered as one of Islam’s golden ages.  When he died, he was buried at his own request in a relatively modest mausoleum in the garden of the Umayyad Mosque.  To this day Saladin’s tomb remains one of the most beloved gravesites in the entire Islamic world.  Saladin’s Mausoleum is part of the Ancient City of Damascus UNESCO World Heritage Site.

History

Saladin was born into a prominent Kurdish family, and his father and uncle were prominent leaders in northern Syria and Mesopotamia.  His public career began in the city of Damascus, where he proved to be highly proficient in many subjects.  According to legend, Saladin had originally intended to pursue a religious career.  But the Islamic world was rife with problems.  The caliphate was fragmenting, and threatening to disintegrate altogether.  Worse, at least from a Muslim point of view, Christian armies from Europe had occupied Palestine and large stretches of territory in the Eastern Mediterranean, including the Holy City of Jerusalem.

Saladin’s theological career was cut short in his twenties, when his uncle recruited him to help lead a military expedition against a rebellion in Egypt.  For five years he fought against rebels and Crusaders alike, and in 1169 AD Saladin was appointed vizier of the province.  Because of the political and military influence he had garnered, Saladin was constantly faced with the diplomatic intrigues of the fractious Islamic world.  But he rose above them, focusing his energies instead on the Christian kingdoms.  In the two years after his appointment as vizier, Saladin scored major military victories against the Crusaders at Damietta, Gaza and other places.

After his appointment as vizier, Saladin spent nearly two decades using every means at his disposal to reunify the Islamic caliphate, all the while keeping up military pressure against the Crusaders.  By 1186 he had defeated most of his enemies, in many cases making peace with them, and had acquired huge amounts of territory in Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia and the Arabian Peninsula.  He then turned his full attention against the Crusaders.  The decisive clash took place at the Battle of Hattin in 1187, one of the greatest and most pivotal battles of the Middle Ages.  It was a resounding victory for Saladin and the Muslims, and paved the way for the conquest of Jerusalem a few months later.

By this point in his career, Saladin was effectively caliph in all but name, and the most powerful ruler the Muslim world had seen since the early days of the Abbasids.  He was beloved by Muslims everywhere and highly respected even by his enemies.  Saladin spent most of the rest of his life purging the Holy Land of Crusader strongholds, and yet was highly respected among the Christians.  His chivalric relationship with the English King Richard I was legendary.  When he died in 1193, virtually all of his personal wealth had been distributed to the poor.  By his own request he was buried in a simple grave in the shadow of the Umayyad Mosque.  The tomb of this great warrior-king is probably the most popular Sunni Muslim burial site in the world outside of Mecca and Medina, and even many non-Muslims visit the sacred place to pay their respects.

Visiting

The Mausoleum of Saladin is indeed relatively small, just as the humble caliph would have wished it.  It stands in a garden on the north side of the Masjid Umayyad, and in fact it could easily be mistaken for an annex of the great mosque.  The unassuming entrance to the compound from the street is marked only by a simple sign which identifies the great hero who is buried within.  The exterior of the shrine consists of simple brick and whitewashed walls, its most distinguishing feature being a simple brown onion dome.

The interior of the Mausoleum is small and elegant in its simplicity.  The room is adorned with pictures, tributes and the like.  The tomb of Saladin itself, shrouded in gold-trimmed cloth, dominates the center of the chamber.  Nevertheless for all of its simplicity, and perhaps because of it, the mausoleum is one of the most beloved places in Damascus.  Saladin is also commemorated by a magnificent statue which stands a few blocks away in front of the Citadel.

The compound of the Mausoleum of Saladin is adjacent to the north side of the Masjid Umayyad on the northern side of the Old City of Damascus.  It usually maintains similar hours to the mosque, and admission to the Masjid Umayyad can include a visit to the tomb.  Web: Not currently available due to ongoing problems in the region.

Other Sites

Damascus is absolutely packed with fantastic Islamic sites.  There are dozens of major mosques within the city, three of which are worth mentioning.  In addition to the Masjid Umayyad, there is the Masjid Sayyidah Zainab and the Masjid Sayyidah Ruqayya, where a granddaughter and great granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad are buried, respectively; the Ottoman-era Masjid Taqiyyeh As-Suleimaniyyeh, the second largest in the city.  Damascus also boasts many major historically important tombs, including the Gravesite of Abu Ubaidah ibn Al-Jarrah in the suburb of Jabiyah; Bilal the first muezzin in the Bab Al-Saghir Cemetery; and the Tomb of Baybars, located in the library of the Madrassa Ar-Zahiriyya.  Other interesting Islamic sites in the city are the Citadel of Damascus and the Azem Palace.

Filed Under: Gravesite, Muslim Tagged With: Syria/Jordan/Lebanon

Where would you like to go?

Africa (North) Africa (Sub-Sahara) Arabia Armenia/Azerbaijan/Georgia Australia/Pacific Austria/Switzerland Balkans Belgium/Netherlands British Isles Canada Caribbean Central Asia China Czech Republic Egypt France Germany Greece Hungary/Romania/Bulgaria India (NE)/Nepal India (NW) India (South)/Sri Lanka Iran/Iraq Israel Italy/Malta Japan/Korea Latin America Mexico Palestine Poland/Lithuania Russia Scandinavia Southeast Asia Spain/Portugal Syria/Jordan/Lebanon Turkey/Cyprus Ukraine US-California US-Mid Atlantic US-Midwest US-New England US-New York US-Pacific Northwest US-South US-Southwest

About Howard Kramer

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is a culmination of years of his work and passion.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

THE COMPLETE AMERICAN PILGRIM – NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

THE COMPLETE PILGRIM

Welcome to The Complete Pilgrim(TM)! This site, created by Howard Kramer, is a combination travel blog and online guide to the world's greatest sites of religious interest (with some historic and recreational places thrown in for good measure). All written content has been originally researched and produced and is provided free for public research and enjoyment. Thank you for visiting!

Site of the Week

WITTENBERG CASTLE CHURCH

WITTENBERG CASTLE CHURCH

Wittenberg, Germany The … [Read More...]

Friends of TCP Spotlight

5 PLACES TO VISIT IN HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA – MUSLIM TRAVEL ROCKS

5 PLACES TO VISIT IN HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA – MUSLIM TRAVEL ROCKS

by Glory Ali The City of Brotherly Love offers tons to see and do and get this, it’s FREE. That’s right you heard it right it’s FREE. Click here for complete article  

MOVING THE U.S. EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM – FAITH IN FAITHS

MOVING THE U.S. EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM – FAITH IN FAITHS

by Mary Neuhauser President Trump recently announced his intentions to move the United States Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, thereby recognizing Jerusalem as the official capital of Israel. The purpose of this article is to give you a brief overview of what this decision means and why it matters. Click here for […]

Photo of the Week

BASILICA OF ST. DENIS

Last month, I visited one of the most fascinating churches I have ever been to, the almost completely ignored Basilica of St. Denis in the northern suburbs of Paris.  Almost every French monarch is buried here, and almost nobody goes here.  Here are some pics I took:

Basilica of St. Denis

Tomb of Clovis

Tomb of Clovis

Tombs of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

Tombs of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

Tomb of Louis XIV The Sun King

Tomb of Louis XIV The Sun King

Royal Tombs

Royal Tombs

The Crypt

The Crypt

 

 

 

 

Follow us!

Where would you like to go?

Africa (North) Africa (Sub-Sahara) Arabia Armenia/Azerbaijan/Georgia Australia/Pacific Austria/Switzerland Balkans Belgium/Netherlands British Isles Canada Caribbean Central Asia China Czech Republic Egypt France Germany Greece Hungary/Romania/Bulgaria India (NE)/Nepal India (NW) India (South)/Sri Lanka Iran/Iraq Israel Italy/Malta Japan/Korea Latin America Mexico Palestine Poland/Lithuania Russia Scandinavia Southeast Asia Spain/Portugal Syria/Jordan/Lebanon Turkey/Cyprus Ukraine US-California US-Mid Atlantic US-Midwest US-New England US-New York US-Pacific Northwest US-South US-Southwest

Contact Us

Have a comment, a great photo or a religious site you'd like to nominate for the weekly spotlight? We would love to hear from you. Email us at hkramer@thecompletepilgrim.com.

About the Author

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is the culmination of years of his work and passion.

Return to top of page
Copyright © 2025 The Complete Pilgrim, LLC || Marietta, GA 30068 || Legal Disclaimers

Website by: Kristina McInerny, Notes From Kris, Inc.