Israel - White Mosque in Ramle

Ramle, from the Arabic for "sand", probably referring to the sand dunes on which the city was built, was founded in the early eighth century by the Umayyad caliph Suleiman ib 'Abd el-Malik, as the first Islamic city, and it now stands in a town with a mixed population of Muslims, Jews and Christians. Through the ages, Ramle has been an important administrative centre to the side of the Via Maris connecting to Jerusalem. With the city's founding, many installations and buildings, such as cisterns, a drainage channel, the House of Dyers, and the mosque were erected. Most of the Umayyad city is now covered by later construction. Only in the Umayyad mosque, called the White Mosque, were several remains of that period preserved as well as a series of subterranean vaults and cisterns. Its square minaret with stone elevations marked by recessed, arched windows, which was rebuilt by the Mamelukes, is the prominent structure of medieval Ramle. Near the tower is the tomb of Nebi Salib, which is a regular pilgrimage site, and a Muslim cemetery still in use