Sanaa's Great Mosque welcomes the faithful during Ramadan скачать в хорошем качестве

Sanaa's Great Mosque welcomes the faithful during Ramadan

(9 Jul 2014) LEADIN During Ramadan worshippers have been flooding to the Great Mosque of Sanaa to pray. It's a UNESCO site and has been undergoing extensive but discrete repairs to bring the seventh century AD monument back to its former glory. STORYLINE: A call to prayer heard across the Sanaa skyline. While conflict threatens various parts of Yemen, there's comparative calm here. It looks like time has stood still in the 2,500 year old city. This is the Great Mosque of Sanaa. Yemen's devout come to one of Islam's oldest mosques to perform their daily prayers during this holy month. The Great Mosque is considered one of the most important monuments in Yemen, with parts of the structure said to date back to the time of the Prophet Mohammed. It's believed the Prophet Mohamed sent one of his companions to King Bazan, then king of Yemen, who converted to Islam and started the construction of the mosque. Historian Abdullah Al Alfy says the monument was built during the seventh century AD, "The Great Mosque is one of the historic monuments of Yemen, the Prophet (peace be upon him) ordered the construction of the mosque when he told Aws Ibn Yakhnas Al Ansary (a tribal leader and a muslim convert) to build them a mosque and direct it to the Dayn mountain and locate it between the stone and the castle." The government has struggled to finance the upkeep of the mosque, damaged by natural disasters like floods and heavy rains, as well as vandalism and political conflicts. UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) named the old city of Sanaa a World Heritage Site in 1985 and enabled a project implemented by the Social Fund for Development (SFD) in Yemen with government representation to concentrate on repairs. In 2011, a UNESCO team began the final phase of reconstruction on the mosque, which included renovating the mosques' bathrooms facilities, still in use today. The mosque has also proven to be a treasure trove for other Islamic artifacts discovered during restoration work at the great mosque in 1972, when construction workers unveiled a number of ancient manuscripts including old copies of the Quran and the Sanaa manuscript. At one time the mosque was a tourist attraction for Muslims and history buffs from around the world. Most of the visitors now are Yemeni men, looking for a cool and quiet place to pray. The country's security problems have forced tourists to stay away. Yemen's government remains largely occupied by an ongoing war in the south against rebels and an intense offensive against militants throughout the country, with the US waging a number of drone attacks in the country targeting what it says are Al-Qaida strongholds. Yemen is currently dealing with pressing concerns of famine and internally displaced persons, forcing maintenance of the Great Mosque to feature lower down in terms of financial investment rankings. As the Mufti of the Great mosque, Abdullah Al Rayi, explains the mosque has already survived great upheaval, "Abdul Malik Ibn Marwan Al Amawy built the front, the eastern and western wings of the mosque during the Umayyad era and the external hall was built during the Ottoman era. The mosque passed by different stages until it reached its current state, and this is the monument of the people of Yemen." The Great Mosque is also a place many Yemenis come for religious education. The Quran, Islamic law and the Arabic language are among the subjects taught on a regular basis. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...