Image Resource Bank

Image Gallery |  8 of 15

The Great Umayyad Mosque of Damascus was built by the Umayyad caliph al-Walid I in 706-715 CE on the site of the Byzantine Church of John the Baptist. Despite many renovations, its original is still visible with its elaborate mosaics, and the shrines containing the heads of John the Baptist and al-Husayn, the Prophet’s martyred grandson. The tomb of Saladin is in a garden adjoining one of the mosque’s walls.

 The Myrtle Patio in the Nasrid Palace

Name: The Umayyad Mosque, Damascus, Syria, Early 8th century

Material: Stone, marble, mosaic glass

Size:
Plan: 97 m (318 ft 3 in) X 156 m (511 ft 9.7 in)
Walls: 100 m (328 ft 1 in) X 157.5 m (516 ft 8.8 in)
Height: (dome) 36 m (118 ft 1.3 in)

Date: 706-715 CE

Place of Origin: Damascus, Syria

Location: Damascus, Syria

Source and Registration#:
Wikipedia. (accessed April 30, 2010).
Attribution: Work of Jerzy Strezelecki
License: Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 (accessed August 17, 2009)

Wadad Kadi

Avalon Foundation Distinguished Service Professor of Islamic Studies, Emerita, Department of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations, University of Chicago