The Umayyad Mosque holds a relic venerated by two religions at once, and a minaret that Islamic eschatology assigns a role in the end of the world.
A shared relic
A shrine inside the mosque is venerated by both Muslims and Christians as containing the head of John the Baptist, known in Islamic tradition as Yahya, a rare instance of a single relic drawing devotion from both communities within the same active place of worship, consistent with the site's layered history as pagan temple, then church, then mosque.
The minaret of Jesus
Islamic eschatological tradition holds that Isa, Jesus, will descend at the end of days at a minaret on the mosque's southeastern corner, a belief that gives that specific structure ongoing devotional significance beyond its architectural function, distinct from the building's role in daily worship.
Damaged by fire and by war
An 1893 fire severely damaged large sections of the mosque, requiring extensive restoration of its mosaics and structure. During the Syrian civil war, fighting in Damascus's old city caused further damage to the complex in the 2010s, adding recent conflict-era harm to a building that had already survived centuries of earlier destruction and rebuilding.