ZS15: The Magnificient Umayyad Masjid

This magnificent Masjid stands at the heart of the Old city at the end of Souk al-Hamidiyeh. The first time we went there, was after our one day excursion to Busra during our first day in Dimasqh. The coaster dropped us across the main road about 50 meters from the main entrance of the Souk. It was 19:10 hours, albeit the tiredness of the 3 hours journey, we were very excited to visit the majestic Masjid. Nana, Azmi and the kids crossed the main road via a 15 meters tunnel equipped with escalators to the Souk Hamadiyeh or Souk Hamidiy in local dialect. Amir and I went later and involved with small argument with the driver. He wanted from us another 500 SP in which as a matter of principle, we did not succumb to his greed! Finally he gave in.
While Amir consoled him, I went off alone…. to a wrong direction. I was lost in the middle of the crowd which was alien to me. Adhan, ‘Isya Prayer call was on the air and decided to go directly to Masjid Umayad, which I did not where exactly it is?!. I went back to the tunnel and asked one of the street vendors the direction of the Masjid. He kindly showed me the direction. I went through the Souk Hamidiy while my fingers busied with my blackberry searching for any available satellites to get hold of Amir’s hand phone but to no avail. My inner voice told me; “bro, why don’t you just go to the Masjid and perform your prayer. InsyaAllah – God willing, you will meet your family and friends there”. Alhamdullillah, after 3 minutes brisk walk, half way to the Masjid, I met them. They were actually worried and waited for me somewhere along the Souk’s alley.
All the day photos were actually taken on Day 2 during our visit to Hussain’s shrine and Prophet Yahya’s shrine while waiting for Maghrib prayer. It was really a pleasant evening for all of us. There were many visitors – Arabs and non-Arabs alike. Afi and M Afiq took the opportunity capturing the authentic ecstatic architecture of the Masjid, while the rest were motivating and supporting them. Their team spirit and characters had attracted the local visitors and some approached them for the close encounter.
Masjid Umayyad was built by the Umayyad Caliph al-Walid ibn Abdul Malek in 705 A.D. when Damascus was the capital of the Arab Islamic Empire. When al-Walid decided to erect an impressive mosque suited to the grandeur of the Arab state "whose like was never built before, nor will ever be built after" as he is reported to have said, he negotiated with the Christian community of Damascus to relinguish their right to their part of the Masjid. The Christian community compromised and agreed for him to construct a new church for them (St. John's) and allotted several pieces of land for other churches.
It was constructed on the site of what has always been a place of worship: first, a temple for Hadad, the Aramean god of the ancient Syrians three thousand years ago; then, a pagan temple (the temple of Jupiter the Damascene) during the Roman era. It was later turned into a church called John the Baptist when Christianity spread in the fourth century. Following the Islamic conquest in 635, Muslims and Christians agreed to partition it between them, and they began to perform their rituals side by side.
The Umayyad Masjid is one of the largest and oldest mosques in the world, located in one of the holiest sites in the old city of Damascus. It was considered one of the marvels of the world, due to being one of the largest of its time. The exterior walls were based on the walls of the temple of Jupiter and measure about 330 by 520 feet (100 by 157.5 meters).

The interior of the mosque is mainly plain white, but contains some fragmentary mosaics and other geometric patterns, and thought to have once had the largest golden mosaic in the world, at over 4,000 sq. meters. In 1893, the Masjid was extensively damaged by fire and many mosaics were lost, although some have since been restored.
The prayer hall consists of three aisles, supported by columns in the Corinthian order. The minaret in the southeast corner (photo below) is called the “Minaret of Prophet Isa a.s” as many Muslims believe that, it is here that Prophet Isa a.s will appear at the End of the World. Allah hu Alam - Allah swt knows best.

The masjid holds a shrine which is said to contain the head of the Prophet Yahya a.s, which was supposedly found during the excavations of the Masjid. Also of significance are the place where the head of Hussain (the grandson of Prophet Muhammad saw- peace be upon him) was kept on display by Yazīd I, and the tomb of Salah al Din al Ayoubi, which stands in a small garden adjoining the north wall of the mosque.

It is said that, the Umayyad Masid was the destination of the ladies and children of the family of Prophet Muhammad saw (peace b eupon him) made to visit there from Iraq following the battle of Karbala, and imprisoned for 60 days.
In the 14th century, one of the most famous Islamic astronomers, Ibn al-Shatir, worked as religious timekeeper at the Umayyad Masjid.

After performing our Maghrib-'Isya prayer together, we were forced to leave the hall as the authority was in hurried to close the Masjid. It will be opened before Fajr prayer.