El-Omri Mosque

The second holy site in the triangle of religions is the El-Omri Mosque. This holy space is complex and full of a history that intertwines with the Church of Saint George as well as Saint George himself. During the Byzantine Period, this site served as a basilica to St. George. It was destroyed, however, during the city’s destruction by the Umayyad Caliph Abd el-Malik. It was then rebuilt alongside the Crusader reconstruction of St. George in the 12th century and once more destroyed in the 13th century by the Mamelukes. They took the rubble and stone and built a mosque on site in 1268 as was ordered by Sultan Rukn al-Din Baybars. This mosque was also claimed to be dedicated to St. George, but he was proclaimed an Islamic holy figure rather than a Christian saint. It is named after Omar Ibn el-Khattab (577-644), the Caliph who conquered Jerusalem in 637 AD and expanded the Islam Caliphate.

While non-Muslims are not allowed inside the mosque today, it might be possible to view the beautiful fountain inside when the doors are open. If you can go in, you will see an apse that remains from the ancient Byzantine basilica at the north end of the prayer hall. On the east side you can find a column with Greek inscriptions that were taken from the church as well.

The original minaret of the mosque collapsed in 1927 after an earthquake, and in 1938, the mosque was used as a place for Lod’s revolutionary leaders to gather and use as a headquarters. A dazzling new white minaret stands tall today and has now become a symbol among Ramat Eshkol’s skyline.