One of the holiest sites in Christianity, this dim space is hung with ancient brass lamps and infused with a millennium of must. On her death (sometime in the middle of the 1st century), Mary was supposedly interred here by the disciples. A monument was first constructed in the 5th century but was repeatedly destroyed. The facade of the current structure dates back to the Crusader period of the 12th century, but the crypt is Byzantine.
On the main road beside the stairs down to the tomb, the small cupola supported by columns is a memorial to Mujir ad-Din, a 15th-century Muslim judge and historian.
