Bab al-Saghir Cemetery
مقبرة الباب الصغير
One of the oldest and most important Islamic cemeteries in Damascus, containing the tombs of several Companions of the Prophet and members of his household.
Bab al-Saghir Cemetery lies southwest of the Old City of Damascus, near one of the seven historic gates that shares its name, and is one of the oldest Islamic cemeteries in the city, with burials dating back to the early decades of the Islamic conquest of the Levant in the 7th century AD.
The cemetery contains the tombs of numerous prominent Islamic figures, including, according to widely circulated historical accounts, some of the wives and daughters of the Prophet Muhammad and a number of senior Companions and their successors, making it a site of special sanctity that visitors and pilgrims have sought out for prayer and religious visitation for many centuries.
Scattered throughout the cemetery are shrines and small domes of varying architectural styles, reflecting the succession of different Islamic eras over Damascus, from the Umayyad to the Ottoman period, giving it historical and architectural value alongside its religious significance.
Bab al-Saghir Cemetery remains a living witness to the deep Islamic history of Damascus, and a place held in special respect and esteem by Muslims from around the world.
For the visitor
Location: 33.5083, 36.3061 · Open on the map
Photos
Photos: Dosseman — via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA) · Library of Congress Catalog: http://lccn.loc.gov/2002724982 — via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
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