Mosque of Omar, Mosque in Christian Quarter, Jerusalem, Israel

The structure stands a short walk from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and displays classic elements of Islamic design with a tall minaret built from pale stone. The outer walls carry a facade of local limestone, while the interior spaces remain simple and focus on prayer and quiet reflection.

The building arose in 1193, roughly five centuries after Caliph Umar chose not to pray inside the Christian church. His decision to remain outside aimed to prevent Muslims from later claiming the church as their own.

The name honors Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab, whose prayer at this spot inspired the later construction of the building. Today, Muslim worshippers gather here for daily prayers while visitors from around the world recognize the site as evidence of centuries of religious coexistence.

The mosque is not open to tourists and admits worshippers only, so it is seen from outside: it faces the southern courtyard of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Muristan area of the Christian Quarter. Look for the 15-metre Mamluk minaret above the pale stone shaft, with its clock face near the open arched gallery.

The minaret, built before 1465 and later renovated under Ottoman sultan Abdulmecid I, stands 15 metres high. Its near-twin is the minaret of the Al-Khanqah al-Salahiyya Mosque on the northern side of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, erected in 1418. A stone plate with a Kufic inscription, found in 1897 in the church's eastern atrium, identified that area as a mosque.