Grand Husseini Mosque

Grand Husseini Mosque ( Arabic : المسجد الحسيني الكبير ) is a mosque in Amman , Jordan. It is one of the oldest mosques in the city, and one of the main landmarks of its downtown area. Originally built as an Omari Mosque during the Umayyad Caliphate in the 7th century CE, on the site of an older Byzantine basilica, it was described by Arab geographer Al-Maqdisi to have been located nearby markets in the 10th century CE. After Amman was resettled by Circassians in 1880s, the mosque's prayer hall was cleared out, and its roof was reconstructed. The original mosque was demolished by orders of Abdullah I in 1924, and was rebuilt and renamed after his father Sharif Hussein bin Ali . The Grand Husseini Mosque was one of the few first new buildings to be constructed after the Emirate of Transjordan was established in 1921, in addition to the Raghadan Palace and a small prison. Currently, the mosque is one of the main landmarks of the downtown area, has a small plaza in front of it, and is located nearby several markets. Since the mosque was rebuilt in 1924, it has witnessed four reconstructions. At the Intersection of the Humanities and the Sciences : Proceedings of the International Humboldt-Kolleg .