There are about 30 mosques in the Old City. All of them are controlled by the Jordanians. Yet, it is a bit surprising to see a minaret towering over the Hurva Synagogue in the middle of the Jewish Quarter. Stranger still, this is often referred to as The Jewish Mosque. Apparently, the Sidna Omar Mosque was built by discontented Jews who converted to Islam in the 14th century during the late Mamluk Period (1260 – 1516). After the mosque lay fallow for almost a century, the Jordanians refurbished and reopened Sidna Omar Mosque in 2019.
