The Muslim mosque of Hala Sultan is located in the centre of a spectacular garden on the west bank of the Salt Lake, approximately 6 km southwest of Larnaka. It is the main Muslim pilgrimage site of Cyprus and among the most important holy places of Islam.
The mosque was built over a tomb which, according to tradition, belongs to Umm Haram, foster-mother of the Prophet Mohammed and wife of one of the most high ranking officers of Moawia, who led two disastrous raids against Cyprus in 649 and 650 AD. Umm Haram died as a result of an accident as soon as she arrived on the island. The mosque was built much later, just before 1787, along with dwellings and water-cisterns, which contributed to the shrine's fame. The mosque's present plan was completed in 1816.
Recently in 2002 by UNOPS, when archaeological excavations also revealed that the site has been inhabited since Neolithic times, with some archaeologists believing that the tomb is a monumental monolithic tomb of the prehistoric period. Today, the mosque is the main Muslim pilgrimage site of Cyprus, and stands as one of the most important holy places of worship for Muslims, ranked immediately after Mecca, Medina in Saudi Arabia and Al Aksha in Jerusalem.