Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. Prayer hall

Citadel.

Construction of the citadel began in 1076. At that time, the citadel was the residence of the ruler, where his chambers, barracks, guards, warehouses, mint, prison, mosque and family graves were located. Only twice a year, on great religious holidays, the ruler left the fortress steppes to visit the main shrine of the city - the Umayyad mosque.
The citadel acquired its current appearance in the 13th century, when it was strengthened by Sultan Malik Adil, the brother of Salah ad-Din. It took 12 years to strengthen and rebuild the citadel. But everything was destroyed during the Mongol invasion in 1260.

Under Sultan Baybars, the fortress was revived, but in 1400, during the invasion of Tamerlane, it was again badly damaged.
It has not been restored since then. Until 1985, there was a prison here. IN last years restoration work and excavations are underway here.
Located next to the citadel and the entrance to the covered market monument to Saladin- the legendary sultan who began a victorious war with the crusaders.
Next to the citadel and the monument is the entrance to Old city and famous Hamidiya market (Souk al-Hamidiya).

Hamidiya market. Morning.

Hamidiya market. Evening.

Once there was a city gate, Bab al-Nasr (Victory Gate), but it was dismantled in 1864. The market is named after Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II, under whom the market was covered with an iron roof in 1885. This place has been a trading place since ancient times.

Bakdash Ice Cream.Damascus. Syria.
Don't pass by Bakdash Ice Cream- This is one of the most famous ice cream shops in Syria, the shop-cafe was opened in Hamidiya in 1885. Thick and elastic ice cream is made from powder of dried orchid tubers and mastic tree resins, sprinkled with pistachios on top. The ice cream is so thick that the ice cream makers constantly knead the ice cream, beating out a rhythm.

At the end of the market street, 12-meter columns rise, supporting a fragment of the pediment - this is what remains of Ancient Roman Temple of Jupiter, built in the 3rd century.

Temple of Jupiter. Damascus. Syria.

Umayyad Mosque considered one of the most famous mosques in the world.

The outer walls of the marking were lined with houses, which the Ottoman authorities began to demolish. However, when the Turks left, the owners of the houses returned and rebuilt. In the 80s The mosque was again cleared away from the houses and a small square was built.

In the square in front of the Umayyad Mosque. Damascus.

The wall surrounding the mosque is very old. Temples have been built here since ancient times.

Wall around the Umayyad Mosque.

First, the Arameans erected a sanctuary to their god Hadad, then the Romans - a temple to Jupiter of Damascus, in the 4th century. Byzantine Emperor Theodosius erected the Basilica of St. Zacharias, in 635 the temple was divided into two parts - Christian and Muslim.
In 708, Caliph Walid, wanting to build in Damascus a mosque worthy of his dynasty was confiscated by St. John's Cathedral, in which Muslims and Christians had prayed side by side for 70 years - some in the western half, others in the eastern.
For the construction of the mosque, talented architects and craftsmen from all over the country were attracted, best materials. The Umayyad Mosque was supposed to personify the glory and power of the Arab state and amaze with the luxury and beauty of its decoration.

The northern minaret or minaret of the Bride dates back to 705, but its upper part was completed later. The southeastern minaret of Isa, i.e. Jesus was erected in 1347 on the ruins of the tower of the Temple of Jupiter. According to legend, Jesus Christ will descend to earth through this minaret on the eve of the Last Judgment. The southwestern minaret of Muhammad was also built on the site ancient tower until the 12th century
The mosque suffered from major fires 11 times, the last of which was in 1893. Each time the mosque was restored.

The entrance for tourists is on the left side. Here you can also buy a ticket (50 SP), women receive dark capes (bare shoulders, arms and head are not allowed). When entering the mosque, both women and men must remove their shoes.

An elegant structure on eight columns - Qubbat al-Khazna- a treasury into which there is no access directly from the ground (787) Once in one of the treasuries the theft of government money stored there “under the protection of Allah” was committed, since then they began to build treasuries without entry from the ground.

In the center of the yard - Qubbat an-Nofara- a fountain for ablutions with a pool (1200; dome - 18th century).

The walls of the mosque are decorated with faience tiles and mosaics (VIII-XIII centuries). The prayer hall has 22 doors, two rows of Corinthian columns divide the hall into three naves.

In the wall of the hall there are richly decorated niches called "mihrab". Initially, the mihrab was a place of honor for the caliph; later it began to simply designate the qibla - the direction towards Mecca, where the faces of those praying should be turned.

Umayyad Mosque. Mihrab. Damascus. Syria.

The Umayyads entered the mosques minbars- pulpits for reading the Koran and delivering sermons. A tall minbar with a staircase is usually located to the left of the mihrab.
In the prayer hall there is cancer of St. John the Baptist.

Umayyad Mosque. Shrine of St. John the Baptist.

Here lies the head of the saint, which, according to legend, was found in 705 in one of the underground crypts during the reconstruction of the basilica into a mosque. If you believe the legend, Caliph Walid wanted to remove this shrine and even began to dig up the head himself, but when he touched the skull, he became numb; believing in a miracle, the Caliph decided to leave the Christian relic in place. This place is equally revered by both Christians and Muslims. Saint John the Baptist in the Muslim tradition is the prophet Yahya.

Nearby are a Byzantine well and font.
In the portico east wall there is a sanctuary where he is buried Hussein's head- son of the fourth “righteous caliph” Ali. This is a place of pilgrimage for Shiites. There are two trash cans inside the room; in one is the head of Hussein, killed by Umayyad soldiers in 680 at the Battle of Karbala (Iraq), in the second is a strand of the Prophet’s hair.

In the same courtyard where the entrance for tourists is located Mausoleum of Salah ad-Din- the legendary Arab sultan, the commander who began a victorious war with the crusading knights, whom Europeans called Saladin.

Open 9.00-16.00 seven days a week

Saladin, Salah ad-Din Yusuf Ibn Ayyub (in Arabic Salah ad-Din means "Honor of the Faith"), the first Sultan of Egypt from the Ayyubid dynasty. Born in Tekrit in 1138 (modern Iraq). By origin, Saladin was an Armenian Kurd. His father Ayyub ibn Shadi and uncle Asad ad-Din Shirkukh, sons of Shadi Ajdanakan, were military leaders in the army of Zengi.
In 1139, Ayyub received control of Baalbek from Zengi, and in 1146, after his death, he supported Zengi’s second son, the future unifier of Syria, Nur ad-Din, and helped him conquer Aleppo. Thus, Saladin was brought up at the Aleppo court, he received an education in the best traditions of Muslim culture.
His career can be divided into three periods: the conquest of Egypt (1164 - 1174), the annexation of Syria and Mesopotamia (1174 - 1186), the conquest of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and other campaigns against Christians (1187 - 1192).
The conquest of Egypt was necessary for Nur ad-Din. Egypt threatened his power from the south and was a stronghold of heretical caliphs.
In 1164, Nur ad-Din decided to send a corps to Egypt to help the Fatimid state repel the Crusader invasion. The corps was led by Shirkuh, with whom his brother Ayyub and his son Salah ad-Din went. After several years spent in battle, Shirkuh became vizier under the Fatimid caliph, but he died suddenly in 1169. He was succeeded by Saladin.
After the Fatimid caliph Adid died in 1171 and Nur ad-Din in 1174, power over Egypt and Syria was concentrated in the hands of Saladin.
Saladin founded his Ayyubid dynasty. He restored the Sunni faith in Egypt in 1171. And in 1174 he entered Damascus, took Hams and Hama, and in 1175 captured Baalbek and the cities surrounding Aleppo.
Saladin owed his success primarily to his well-trained regular army of Turkish slaves (Mamluks), consisting of horse archers and horse spearmen.
The next step was to achieve political independence.

Salah ad-Din constantly fought with the crusaders. In 1187, a decisive battle took place near Hittin between Christians and Muslims. Saladin avoided battle for a long time, firing at the crusaders with bows. Under the scorching rays of the sun, the knights roasted in their heavy armor. When they reached their limit, Salah ad-Din managed to separate the crusader cavalry from the infantry and defeated it. Few of the crusaders managed to survive or avoid capture. Even the king of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Guido Lusignan, was captured, but was released with honors on an oath never again to raise a sword against Muslims (which he later violated). Also taken prisoner was the Grand Master of the Templar Order, Raynald of Chatillon, whom Saladin personally executed.
After the Battle of Hittin, Saladin's victories followed one after another, including Saladin capturing Jerusalem and performing a ritual of its purification, while showing magnanimity towards Christians. The townspeople were released for a ransom; those who could not pay the ransom were enslaved.
This turn of events puzzled Christian Europe.
Another crusade took place, one of the leaders of which was the King of England, Richard I the Lionheart. King Philip II Augustus of France and German Emperor Frederick I also took part in the campaign. Richard the Lionheart recaptured some of the cities and fortresses from Saladin. Among them was Acre, when the Muslim garrison capitulated without Saladin's permission. Richard I put 2,000 hostages to death. Salah ad-Din was upset by the severity of the enemy; in such cases, he himself gave captives into slavery.
But this did not stop him from arranging the marriage of his younger brother and sister Richard I, after which a peace was concluded in November 1192, under the terms of which the interior of Syria was recognized as Muslim with the right of unhindered passage for Christian pilgrims, and Palestine was divided approximately equally.
History has confirmed that this was a wise move on the part of Salah ad-Din, which allowed the Arabs to gain a foothold in the conquered territories and prepare for a further attack on the possessions of the crusaders.
Salah ad-Din died in March 1193 of fever at the age of 55. He was buried in Damascus and mourned throughout the East.
His grave is one of the places revered by Muslims. He became famous as an outstanding commander and defender of Islam, as a patron of education, who founded schools and seminaries in Egypt and Syria.


Streets of Old Damascus.

Streets of Old Damascus.

The era of the reign of the Umayyads (661 - 750), the first dynasty of the Arab Caliphate, was marked by the complete victory of Islam over a vast territory from Afghanistan. The lands that had been in the orbit of Greco-Roman and then Byzantine culture for centuries became part of a completely different world in a matter of years. This became possible only thanks to the balanced policy of the first caliphs, who were tolerant of Christians and Jews and willingly borrowed the achievements of local culture from the conquered lands.

The nomadic Arabs had no idea about monumental architecture; Muslims prayed under open air, and the first mosques were simply fenced courtyards. However, when confronted with the urban culture of the Middle East, the caliphs realized its many charms and wished to affirm the victory of Islam by building impressive religious monuments. The best masters of Persia, regardless of their religion, were involved in the fascinating process of creating new architecture.

The Umayyad Mosque (Jam Bani Umay), built in new capital empire, the city of Damascus (Syria) in 715. The place where the mosque was built has been considered sacred for two thousand years. In the 1st millennium BC. e. here stood the Aramaic temple of the god Hadad; in the Roman era, the temple of Jupiter was erected in its place. Emperor Theodosius ordered it to be destroyed and the Christian Church of John the Baptist to be built. When Damascus was captured by Muslims, they did not destroy the church and did not take it away from the Christians, but prayed in the temple with them, because they revered the Baptist under the name of the prophet Yahya. However, then Caliph al-Walid I bought the church from the Christian community and ordered it to be dismantled and a mosque erected in its place.

In full accordance with the tastes of the early Muslims, the Umayyad Mosque is an open rectangular courtyard that can accommodate many hundreds of believers. However, the perimeter of this courtyard is decorated with a two-tiered colonnade, made in Byzantine forms, and in the direction of Mecca rises a huge three-nave prayer hall, not unlike a Byzantine basilica. Greek masters covered the outer walls and galleries of the hall with wonderful mosaics, which in their style do not in any way resemble Arab art. Cypress trees, flowers and birds, landscapes of cities with domes and colonnades seem to have come out of an Orthodox icon, and the golden background of the mosaic changes and shimmers under southern sun, makes us remember the walls of the churches of Ravenna and Constantinople.

Muslims highly reverence the ancient shrine. They claim that the real head of John the Baptist is kept in it and it is here that the prophet Isa, whom we know under the name Jesus Christ, will appear on earth during the second coming.

Umayyad Mosque in Damascus on the map

3 105

And I left Syria, which was still calm at that time. Now I propose to read the story and look at photographs of one of the oldest and largest mosques in the world, located in Damascus.

Great Mosque Damascus, better known as the Umayyad Great Mosque, is located in the old part of the Syrian capital, one of the oldest cities in the world. The mosque is sacred place Syria, as it contains a treasury with the head of John the Baptist (Yahya), revered as a prophet by both Christians and Muslims. The mosque also contains the tomb of Salah ad-Din, located in a small garden adjacent to the northern wall of the mosque.

1. The mosque is called big for a reason. This is the largest building in old Damascus. The spacious courtyard of the mosque and its 3 minarets are clearly visible.

2. The huge courtyard of the mosque is lined with polished slabs.

4. In the mosque during prayer. You can only walk on carpets without shoes. The pattern of the carpets marks places of worship.

5. I was surprised by some of the relaxedness of the parishioners: quite a lot of people read newspapers and magazines during prayer, play mobile phones, discuss pressing problems among themselves, take photographs, and some even sleep.

6. I forgot to say that only Muslims are allowed into the mosque and into the courtyard for free (although at the entrance they ask what country the visitor is from; only visitors from Arab countries and Turkey are allowed in this way). The rest have to pay 50 pounds (at the time of their stay in Syria it was necessary to divide by 1.5 to get the price in rubles).

7. The weather that day was changeable: rain was replaced by sun, then clouds came again. It began to rain 20 minutes before the scheduled time, but it stopped at the right moment. Thanks to him, there was a reflection on the floor, and the sky was not uniformly blue.

8. Syrians are very relaxed about filming on the mosque grounds, including from a tripod. Sometimes people came up and asked what country we were from and what magazine we were shooting for.

9. I was pleasantly surprised by the absence of people, although outside the mosque life was in full swing until late.

10. The mosque was built under the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid I between 706 and 715 on the site of a Christian church dedicated to John the Baptist (it is claimed that the head of John, kept in the mosque's treasury, was found during the construction of the mosque).

11. The Umayyads are a dynasty of caliphs founded by Muawiyah in 661. In 750, their dynasty was overthrown by the Abbasids, and all the Umayyads were destroyed, except for the grandson of the caliph Hisham Abd al-Rahman, who founded the dynasty in Spain (Cordoba Caliphate).

12. One of the three minarets of the mosque (the one visible on the left side of the panorama, to the right of the green roof) bears the name Isa ben Mariam, that is, “Jesus, Son of Mary.” According to the prophecy, it is according to it that on the eve of the Last Judgment Jesus Christ will descend from heaven to earth.

13. ...and the clouds come again...

14. Some of the walls and galleries of the mosque are decorated with mosaics, which is clearly visible in this panorama.

That's all for today. I will return to Damascus when I talk about Syrian cities in general. And tomorrow there will be a post about Istanbul bazaars.

Umayyad Mosque, the heart of the Old City of Damascus.
The Umayyad Mosque (in Arabic Jami al-Omawi) is one of the holiest places in Islam, second in holiness only to the mosques of Mecca and Medina, and Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa. But surpassing all of them in grandeur. This place was sacred long before the Prophet preached. In the 9th century BC, a temple to the Aramaic god Haad was built on this site, comparable in size to the Temple of Bel in Palmyra. The Romans rebuilt it into a grandiose Temple of Jupiter, comparable to the one in Baalbek. At the end of the 4th century, Emperor Theodosius turned the pagan temple into the Basilica of St. Zechariah, later renamed in honor of John the Baptist. In 636, Damascus was occupied by the Arabs and the eastern part of the basilica was turned into a mosque. At the same time, her West Side remained Christian for another 70 years. Then the Christians were kicked out and the caliphs began a grandiose reconstruction of the mosque, charging it with 7 years of tax collection from the entire state. The resulting devastation of the treasury was one of the reasons for the fall of the Umayyads. Since then, the mosque has remained almost unchanged; the last time it was updated and restored by the Ottomans was in 1893.
There are many roads to the mosque, but usually two are used. From al-Saura, a direct path leads to the mosque through the Hamidiya covered market.

It ends with Koranic shops

at the Corinthian columns of the ancient western gate of the temenos (sacred territory) of the Temple of Jupiter.

After them we go out to the square in front of the western wall of the mosque, where it is always crowded and full of pigeons.

Another road leads to the same square - from Straight along Shariya Souk al-Bzuriya, past the Azema Palace, to the southern wall of the mosque, turn left.
Why is the square crowded? But because the western gate of the mosque (Bab al-Barid) opens onto it, through which the faithful go inside.

They go for free, of course. Others must pay a fee and go through another entrance. Which is what the policeman standing at the gate is watching.

Before going inside, you should go around the mosque itself, walk along the powerful wall, more reminiscent of a fortress, and look at the tall minarets.
The mosque has the shape of a rectangle in plan - accordingly, there are three minarets :) Moreover, they were erected in different eras and in different styles. From the square at the western gate two are visible - in the north the Bride Minaret, the oldest, built in 705, in the south - the Al-Gharbiya Minaret, the most beautiful, in the Mamluk style.

Walking along the southern wall, along Shariya Souq al-Abbasiya (they sell souvenirs), past the closed southern gate (Bab Ziyad), we will see the minaret of Isa (Jesus), built in 1347, from the remains of the tower of the Temple of Jupiter - locals believe that it is on this Jesus will descend on Judgment Day. Of course, this minaret is the tallest.
Having turned the corner, we come out onto the same Kalmania street with cafes. It starts from the spectacularly closed eastern gate of the mosque (Bab al-Nafura). Nearby there is also something antique - the remains of the eastern gate of the temenos of the Temple of Jupiter.

In general, to the east of the temple in ancient times there was an agora - the shopping arcades of ancient Damascus, and here and there you can see antique columns built into houses.
Okay, it's time to go inside - for this we will return to the western gate. The Umayyad Mosque is open to infidels all days from morning to evening (more precisely, from morning to evening prayer, so if you wish, you can come at 4 in the morning :)), except for the main Friday prayer (from 12:30 to 14:00).
Entering the mosque is a little tricky, because the ticket is sold in the wrong place. So, we go north along the western wall and turn into the gate - there is a small building of the tickit office, above which rises the dome of Zechariah's madras. Tickets cost £50.

Upon receiving it, you should not immediately run to the mosque - you should walk around the small area behind the ticket office. Behind it there is a small park in which there is Saladdin’s mausoleum, as well as the graves of three Turkish pilots who died in 1914 while flying from Istanbul to Cairo. True, the iron bars did not allow entry into the park, it seems that something is being restored here too. Or did I just arrive late?

Further east is the attractive 15th-century Mamluk madrassa Jaqmakiya, which houses the Museum of Arabic Epigraphy (£75 entry), a collection of examples of Arabic writing and writing objects.
Okay, it's time to go to the mosque. We walk along Shariya al-Sadria, past the iron grating of the garden and the madras, which we have already visited. Several Roman columns, collected from the surrounding neighborhoods, lie near the grille.

By the way, about the red cat sleeping on the column. I saw typical domestic cats only in the Christian areas of East Beirut. In other places, skinny stray cats constantly caught the eye, feeding from numerous local dumps and hiding from the heat under parked cars. Their natural enemies - dogs - are not found in Arab cities, therefore local cats are not particularly timid.
Gentiles enter the mosque through the northern gate (Bab al-Amara). As you approach them, the remains of the colonnade of the Temple of Jupiter are visible on the right.

You are required to take off your shoes in the mosque. So, it is advisable to choose clean socks that do not have holes when going to the mosque :) Tourists can carry their shoes in their hands, or they can hand them over to the controller in a glass booth.

When returning shoes, they ask for baksheesh, but you can send them :) Locals usually just leave their shoes at the doorstep, or put them in black plastic bags and take them with them. Tourists have to wear abaya capes with a hood and long sleeves of some dirty green color.

The entrances lead to the vast courtyard of the mosque. The polished floor shines brightly, children are playing - here they are allowed to run around, unlike in the prayer hall.
Along the central axis of the courtyard rise a couple of octagonal structures on columns, a couple of antique columns with 19th century lamps on top, and a bathing pool in the rotunda.

On the eastern side of the mosque's courtyard is the entrance to the sanctuary of Hussein, where the head of the grandson of the Prophet and the main martyr of Shiism is kept. It is her presence here that is the reason for the abundance of Iranian pilgrims in the Umayyad mosque, who killed Ali and Hussein. But when I was there, the sanctuary was closed and fenced with a light green keeper tape.

On the western side of the mosque’s courtyard there is a 37-meter arched covered gallery, in which the main entrance for the faithful is located.
The gallery and main entrance are decorated with wonderful mosaics from the 8th-13th centuries.

They depict either paradise or the Baroda valley in the vicinity of Damascus.

In short, it’s the same thing, if you believe the remark of the Prophet Muhammad, who, according to legend, did not enter Damascus, saying that you can enter heaven only once.
The facade of the prayer hall is also decorated with mosaics (with gilding) and has 22 doors and an eternally closed main gate.

Enter the prayer hall through some of these doors, which are open. Most are through the extreme western ones, which are right next to the main entrance to the mosque for the faithful.
Inside, at the entrance, there is an electronic board that indicates the times of sunrise and sunset, as well as prayers.

The vast and tall prayer hall is divided by two rows of Corinthian columns into three huge naves.

The floor is lined with soft red roofs, and huge chandeliers hang from the ceiling. In the center of the hall, at a height of 36 meters, rises a giant dome, built after a fire in the 11th century.

In the southern wall there are mihrabs - niches indicating the direction to Mecca for worshipers, and in the middle of the southern wall there is a minbar - the imam's pulpit.
In the eastern part of the prayer hall there is a sanctuary of John the Baptist (Prophet Yahya in Islam),

behind the green glass you can see a sarcophagus with the head of John the Baptist.

True, great prophets are not like ordinary people. For example, judging by the number of heads of John the Baptist revered in different places in the Middle East, he had at least a dozen of them :) But the Damascus head is one of the most revered by Muslims.
The place, like everything in the Old Town, is surprisingly atmospheric. It’s nice to leisurely wander around the hall, sit on the soft carpet by one of the columns, watching those gathered. The imam sits next to the minbar, and around him (also sitting) is a small crowd. The voice of the imam is carried throughout the mosque by a loudspeaker - but not too loudly, so it comes as a background sound, intertwining a quiet note with the general atmosphere.

Another group of people sits in the central nave, closer to the sanctuary of John the Baptist, listening to someone else wearing a haji cap. In different places they pray for something one by one. Tourists are wandering around - what especially caught my eye was a crowd of either Japanese or Korean women in abayas.

The largest concentration of people is at the sanctuary of John the Baptist. Someone, placing his forehead against the iron bars and closing his eyes, silently whispers a prayer. And nearby is a group of young and modernly dressed guys and girls, obviously local. They take pictures with their cell phones in front of the sanctuary, chatting loudly.
In general, the quintessence of life. Indeed, it is worth visiting and seeing - not running around all the sights, but just sitting and relaxing, stopping and looking around.
Next time - a walk around.

Umayyad Mosque in Damascus

Damascus is one of the oldest cities in the world. It arose around the 11th century BC. e. Millennia passed, the peoples inhabiting Damascus changed, and the temples of some gods were replaced by the temples of the gods of others...

Jamia al Umayyi, otherwise the Great Mosque, or the Umayyad Mosque, is located in the center of the old city, on the site where the ancient Roman temple of Jupiter of Damascus once stood (an Aramaic temple was located here even earlier). The beauty and grandeur of this ancient temple today can be judged by the few fragments spared by time and people - for example, the six-column Arc de Triomphe, 16 m high. It is believed that architectural ensemble The temple of Jupiter was formed by the 3rd century, and already in the next century, during the reign of Emperor Theodosius (379–395), it was partially destroyed. From the rubble of its southern wall, the Byzantines built a cathedral in the name of John the Baptist. According to legend, the head of John the Baptist, the Forerunner of Christ, who was killed by order of King Herod, was kept in it.

The Byzantines were replaced by Arabs. In 705, Caliph Walid ben Abd-el-Malik of the Umayyad dynasty wished to decorate his capital Damascus with a magnificent monument worthy of the splendor of the ruling dynasty. It was to eclipse all other monumental buildings in the Arab world. The Umayyad Mosque became the stronghold and shrine of Islam, the first religious building, reflecting the religious beliefs of Muslims in architectural form.

It was decided to build a new mosque on the site of the Byzantine temple. It was dismantled and its materials were used to build a mosque. From all the then centers of world culture - Athens, Rome, Constantinople, the countries of the Arab East - the best artists, architects, and stone craftsmen were invited.

Umayyad Mosque

More than twelve thousand workers worked on the construction of the mosque for ten years. Mother of pearl, pearls, and gold were widely used for interior decoration. Decorated with mosaics on a golden background, inlaid with marble carvings, even today, thirteen centuries later, having gone through dozens of wars, fires, looting and many years of desolation, the Umayyad Mosque amazes with its grandeur and splendor of forms. You can imagine what it was like in the first years of its history! At that time, mosaics even covered the walls of the mosque’s courtyard.

Powerful blank walls separate the mosque from the noisy city. There are four gates leading into the temple courtyard. Their portals are lined with ceramic tiles and mosaics from the Umayyad era. The courtyard is paved with square stone slabs and has the shape of a rectangle 125 m long and 50 m wide. The courtyard is surrounded on three sides by a vaulted gallery, and on the fourth side there is a prayer hall. In one of the corners there is a stone octagonal pavilion with a dome, raised on eight tall columns with magnificent capitals. This is Qubbat el-Khazneh, the treasury of the caliphs. According to legend, the Umayyad treasury was kept here. All eight sides of the treasury are covered with floral patterns.

At the opposite end of the yard there is a stone gazebo with sundial. Its dome also rests on eight columns, and none of the columns is different from the other - they were probably taken from different buildings at one time. In the middle of the courtyard, as is customary, there is a traditional fountain and a pool for ablutions.

On the south side of the courtyard there is a prayer hall building. Once its facade was an open arcade; now the windows and arched spans are covered with wooden walls and stained glass windows.

The prayer hall is huge. Its length is 136 m and its width is 37 m. The vaults go up. Graceful steep arches rest on forty powerful Corinthian columns. Columns are also installed on the arches, which bear the weight of the lead roof. In the center of the hall, four massive columns support a giant dome. On the southern side there are four mihrabs indicating the direction to Mecca. The large mihrab, closest to the pulpit, stands out for its finest decoration with mother-of-pearl and colored marble.

A steep staircase behind carved high doors leads to a high pulpit (minbar) made of white marble. From here, sermons are broadcast on radio throughout the country. In the eastern part of the hall there is a marble pavilion topped with a dome, decorated with two green banners of Islam. Through its glass you can see a large tombstone. The head of John the Baptist (Muslims call him the prophet Yahya), discovered during restoration work in one of the crypts of the Byzantine temple that stood on this site, is buried here. Christianity and Islam are so closely intertwined in the Middle East!

The best decoration of the Umayyad Mosque is rightfully considered to be its mosaics. According to legend, the Caliph invited craftsmen from Constantinople to work on them. For a long time The mosaics of the Umayyad mosque were hidden under a layer of plaster and only in 1927, thanks to the efforts of restorers, they saw the light of day again. On numerous mosaic panels you can see Damascus of the Umayyad era - palaces, fruit trees, flowers, a clear, deep river.

The mosque hall is illuminated by heavy European-style crystal chandeliers. In the 19th century, the interior of the prayer hall changed its appearance somewhat. In particular, the windows and openings of the arches of the northern wall were decorated with bright, colorful stained glass windows.

Above the mosque, three minarets soar into the hot blue sky. The oldest of them is located in the center of the northern wall surrounding the mosque. It is called Al-Arouk - the minaret of the Bride and was built during the Umayyad era. Time has not preserved its original appearance. The minaret was restored several times, and its upper part was made in modern style. The western minaret, Al-Gharbiya, was built in the 15th century. Its rectangular tower, topped with a sharp spire, rises above the western entrance to the mosque courtyard.

The minaret, standing in the southeast corner, bears the name of... Jesus Christ! Nonsense? Not at all. Islam, as we know, does not reject Christ, but rejects his Divine origin and considers him only a prophet. The Arabs call him "Issa ben Mariam" - "Jesus, son of Mary." The lower part of the minaret of Jesus Christ looks like a quadrangular tower, and the upper part resembles a faceted pencil. There is a legend that it is on this minaret that Jesus Christ will descend from heaven at the hour of the Second Coming, for the final battle with the Antichrist on the eve of the Last Judgment, and then from here, from the top of the minaret, he will carry out his judgment on the world...

The Umayyad Mosque is available for inspection by tourists of any religion for a small fee. Only women are given black capes to cover their faces, and when entering the mosque, according to tradition, they must remove their shoes. But is it possible, having visited Damascus, not to visit the legendary Jamia al Umayyi - the Umayyad Mosque, the pearl of the Middle East?

From the book 100 Great Temples author Nizovsky Andrey Yurievich

"Blue Mosque" in Istanbul (Ahmediye Mosque) After the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks, the main Muslim temple For many years, the Ottoman Empire had the grandiose Hagia Sophia turned into a mosque. And only at the beginning of the 17th century Sultan Ahmed I ordered

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Umayyad Caliphate (661–750) The Umayyads energetically set out to strengthen their power, to create the foundations of a strong political structure designed to effectively manage a gigantic state, which consisted of very heterogeneous parts. Having bought off claims to power

author Team of authors

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE UMAYYAD CALIPHATE The founder of the dynasty of Umayyad caliphs, Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan (661–680), like Muhammad, came from the Quraish tribe, but was not a Hashemite, but a native of the Rodulshya. The Umayyad family belonged to the ancient Meccan nobility and played a prominent role in

From book The World History: in 6 volumes. Volume 2: Medieval civilizations of the West and East author Team of authors

THE FLOWING OF THE UMAYYAD CALIPHATE Having restored the unity of the state, Abd al-Malik carried out fundamental reforms, thanks to which the Caliphate formed its own fiscal and administrative systems. All office work was translated into Arabic.

From the book Spain. History of the country by Lalaguna Juan

Umayyad Dynasty From 756 to 1031, under the rule of strong and learned rulers who succeeded each other peacefully, Al-Andalus achieved a level of prosperity, education and tolerance that was admired and envied by contemporaries from all known parts of the world, despite

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Fiasco in Damascus Damascus – the most Big city Little Syria. It is its capital, for it is said: “The head of Syria is Damascus.” The city is also known as Lebanese Phenicia and is named after a certain servant of Abraham who is said to have founded it. The name means

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16. Once again about Bulat and Damascus, which came out of Rus'-Horde In view of the importance of the history of Bulat for understanding the “ancient” sources, let’s return to it again. Today people sometimes talk about two types of steel – Bulat and Damascus. We quote the modern encyclopedia "Cold Weapons". Certainly,

From the book 500 Famous Historical Events author Karnatsevich Vladislav Leonidovich

COMING TO POWER OF THE UMAYADS Prophet Muhammad died in 632 in Mecca. He probably had no idea how popular the religion he created would become and what power the state he created would achieve. After some 80 years, the Arabian Peninsula was only

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A MAN IN DAMASCUS On January 18, 1965, at 8:30 am, three Syrian counterintelligence officers burst into the apartment of local businessman Kamal Amin Thabet. Just at that moment when he, lying in bed, was receiving a radio message from Tel Aviv. During the search they found

author Pernatyev Yuri Sergeevich

Umayyad Mosque in Damascus In the very center of old Damascus stands one of the greatest shrines of the Muslim world - the Umayyah, or Umayyad Mosque, the Great Mosque, built at the beginning of the 8th century. Caliph al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik.B ancient times the Romans are in this place

From book 100 famous monuments architecture author Pernatyev Yuri Sergeevich

Muhammad Ali Mosque (Alabaster Mosque) in Cairo When you hear the word “Egypt,” many associations arise, primarily associated with ancient times. This is understandable from a historical point of view: Egypt is the cradle of world civilization, greatest empire Ancient

From the book Book of Edification author Ibn Munkyz Osama

OSAMAH'S FIRST STAY IN DAMASCUS Then circumstances required my arrival in Damascus. Messengers from the atabek came to the ruler of Damascus one after another, demanding me. I spent eight years in this city and participated in many battles. Its owner, may Allah have mercy on him,

From the book Book of Edification author Ibn Munkyz Osama

HUNTING IN DAMASCUS I saw hunting of birds, gazelles, wild asses and roes in Damascus in the days of Shihab ad-Din Mahmud ibn Taj al-Muluk. One day I was with him when we went into the thickets of Baniyas. The ground was covered with thick grass. We killed a large number of roe deer and defeated

From the book War and Society. Factor analysis of the historical process. History of the East author Nefedov Sergey Alexandrovich

8.2. THE PERIOD OF THE UMAYYAD CALIPHATE The Arab invasion began at the time of the eco-social crisis that gripped Byzantium and Iran: by this time, the 26-year war between the great powers had devastated the entire Middle East. The invasion completed this devastation. Ctesiphon was destroyed

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From the book Vatican [Zodiac of Astronomy. Istanbul and the Vatican. Chinese horoscopes] author Nosovsky Gleb Vladimirovich

3.5. The Fethiye Mosque is the former mosque of the Virgin Mary, and the Mihrimah Mosque is the former mosque of Mariam, that is, the same Virgin Mary? But why is the name of the Murad Mosque mentioned on the map, and not the Selim Mosque? The point is probably that the Western European map compiler, being