Theme Week Armenia – Ararat City

26 January 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Ararat City entrance from the M2 highway © Armineaghayan/cc-by-sa-4.0

Ararat City entrance from the M2 highway © Armineaghayan/cc-by-sa-4.0

Ararat is a town in the Ararat Municipality of the Ararat Province of Armenia, located on the YerevanNakhchivan highway, 42 km (26 mi) southeast of the capital Yerevan and 19 km (12 mi) south of the provincial centre Artashat. In the 2011 census, the population of the town was 20,235. As per the 2016 official estimate, the population is around 20,300.   read more…

House of One in Berlin

24 December 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Berlin Reading Time:  8 minutes

House of One model © Thaler Tamas/cc-by-sa-4.0

House of One model © Thaler Tamas/cc-by-sa-4.0

The House of One is a religious structure being built in Berlin. It will be the world’s first house of prayer for three religions, containing a church, a mosque, and a synagogue. The construction costs, which are estimated at 43.5 million euros, come roughly equally from the federal government, the city of Berlin as well as donations and a crowdfunding campaign.   read more…

Citadel of Saladin in Cairo

4 November 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, UNESCO World Heritage, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Ahmed zakaria 2025/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Ahmed zakaria 2025/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Citadel of Cairo or Citadel of Saladin is a medieval Islamic-era fortification in Cairo, Egypt, built by Salah ad-Din (Saladin) and further developed by subsequent Egyptian rulers. It was the seat of government in Egypt and the residence of its rulers for nearly 700 years from the 13th century until the construction of Abdeen Palace in the 19th century. Its location on a promontory of the Mokattam hills near the center of Cairo commands a strategic position overlooking the city and dominating its skyline. When it was constructed it was among the most impressive and ambitious military fortification projects of its time. It is now a preserved historic site, including mosques and museums.   read more…

Historic centre of Córdoba

8 October 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  10 minutes

Historic centre of Córdoba © Jose María Ligero Loarte/cc-by-sa-4.0

Historic centre of Córdoba © Jose María Ligero Loarte/cc-by-sa-4.0

The historic centre of Córdoba, Andalusia, Spain is one of the largest of its kind in Europe. In 1984, UNESCO registered the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba as a World Heritage Site. A decade later, it expanded the inscription to include much of the old town. The historic centre has a wealth of monuments preserving large traces of Roman, Arabic, Islam, and Christian times. It is important to understand the mutual interactions between Muslims and Christians, Christians and Muslims in their entirety, because this is a prerequisite for understanding today’s Andalusia in its complexity and diversity.   read more…

Arab Souk in the Old City of Jerusalem

14 September 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon appétit, Shopping, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  3 minutes

© Radoslaw Botev/cc-by-3.0-pl

© Radoslaw Botev/cc-by-3.0-pl

The Arab Souk Couk, also known as the Arab Souq Couq, Arabic Market of Wondrous Expectations or Suq El-Bazar, is a large bazaar occupying approximately 100 acres (400,000 m²) of area in the Old City of Jerusalem. About 800 merchants operate a variety of businesses in closely-packed shop stalls along a network of alleyways primarily in the Muslim Quarter and the Christian Quarter, located in the northern part of the Old City. The New York Times described the market in a 1982 publishing as “an explosion of colour, movement and smell.”   read more…

Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi

20 August 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Abrahamic Family House model © flickr.com - U.S. Embassy Jerusalem/cc-by-2.0

Abrahamic Family House model © flickr.com – U.S. Embassy Jerusalem/cc-by-2.0

The Abrahamic Family House is an interfaith complex on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The undertaking was inspired by the Document on Human Fraternity signed by Pope Francis on behalf of the Catholic Church and Ahmed El-Tayeb on behalf of the al-Azhar Mosque on Feb. 4, 2019 in Abu Dhabi. It houses the St. Francis Church, Imam Al-Tayeb Mosque and Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue in separate structures.   read more…

Mosque of Amr ibn al-As in Cairo

31 July 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  4 minutes

© Eslam elkebeer/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Eslam elkebeer/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Mosque of Amr ibn al-As, or Taj al-Jawame’ (lit. Crown of Mosques), or Masjid Ahl ar-Rayah (lit. Mosque of the Banner Bearers), or Jame’ al-Ateeq (lit. the Old Mosque), was originally built in 641–642 AD, as the center of the newly founded capital of Egypt, Fustat. The original structure was the first mosque ever built in Egypt and the whole of Africa. For 600 years, the mosque was also an important center of Islamic learning until Al-Muizz‘s Al-Azhar Mosque in Islamic Cairo replaced it. Through the twentieth century, it was the fourth largest mosque in the Islamic world.   read more…

Kairouan in Tunisia

6 July 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  8 minutes

Great Mosque - prayer hall © flickr.com - Dennis Jarvis/cc-by-sa-2.0

Great Mosque – prayer hall © flickr.com – Dennis Jarvis/cc-by-sa-2.0

Kairouan, also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan, is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by the Umayyads around 670, in the period of Caliph Mu’awiya (reigned 661–680); this is when it became an important centre for Sunni Islamic scholarship and Quranic learning, attracting Muslims from various parts of the world. The Mosque of Uqba is situated in the city. In 2014, the city had about 187,000 inhabitants.   read more…

Umayyad Mosque in Damascus

3 July 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

The shrine of John the Baptist (Prophet Yahya) © Lars Mongs, Arxfoto/cc-by-4.0

The shrine of John the Baptist (Prophet Yahya) © Lars Mongs, Arxfoto/cc-by-4.0

The Umayyad Mosque, also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus, located in the old city of Damascus, the capital of Syria, is one of the largest and oldest mosques in the world. Its religious importance stems from the eschatological reports concerning the mosque, and historic events associated with it. Christian and Muslim tradition alike consider it the burial place of John the Baptist‘s head, a tradition originating in the 6th century. Muslim tradition holds that the mosque will be the place Jesus will return before the End of Days. Two shrines inside the premises commemorate the Islamic prophet Muhammad‘s grandson Husayn ibn Ali, whose martyrdom is frequently compared to that of John the Baptist and Jesus.   read more…

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