The Omari Mosque is one of the oldest buildings in Beirut. The city’s original mosque was built on the site in the seventh century, after the Muslim conquest. Before that, archaeological evidence shows the presence of a Roman temple. In the twelfth century, it was converted into a church dedicated to John the Baptist by crusaders. After the Crusaders were finally expelled in 1291, the building was once again converted into a mosque by the Mamluks. Renovations have continued in the intervening years, but this is still pretty much the same mosque it was in the thirteenth century. It is named for the second caliph, Omar ibn al-Khattab.
