Downtown Beirut

This one's for toerisists. The al-Omari mosque downtown Beirut, also known as the Great Mosque (although it must be the smallest mosque in that area by now). It was originally a cathedral, the Cathedral of St. John, built by the Crusaders between 1113 - 1115 A.D. Beirut was captured on 27 April, 1111, by Baldwin I, King of Jerusalem, and with the exception of short intervals was held by the Franks till 1241.
When they decided in 1291 that - in view of their chances for survival - departure from the Holy land and its surroundings was probably the best decision, the building was transformed into the city's Grand Mosque by the Mamlukes. And it has been a mosque ever since.
It’s a beautiful building. I took this picture from the other side of the fountain, where there is this security guy who is forever telling you (and he was already doing this before 2005) that it is 'mamnouah' (forbidden) to make pictures, and who gets forever ignored by me.

You see, by the way, in the distance, the spires of another two religious buildings; a church and then a mosque again, I believe. Or maybe it's the other way.