ZS7: Al Umari Masjid - One of the Oldest Masjid

Al Umari Masjid, located ins ancient Roman city of Busra, is one of the oldest surviving mosques in Islamic history. It was founded in 636 by Saidina Umar ra during his helm as the second Caliph, who led the Muslim conquest of Syria. The Caliph Yazid II completed the masjid in 720. It was then, renovated and expanded in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries by the Ayyubid dynaties who also fortified the Roman theatre and baths.

Honestly, I never expected to find or visit a masjid within the Old city of Busra. Not until Amir brought us around the Old city, he told us that there is one old masjid inside the perimeter, which is use by the Locals to perform their obligation.
The masjid's plan is arranged around an enclosed courtyard wrapped with a single arcade on the eastern and western sides and a double arcade on the southern side that leads to the prayer hall. The courtyard was originally used as a market and sleeping area for traveling caravans on the trade routes across Syria, especially on the annual pilgrimage roads to Makkah. It has one of the earliest examples of an Umayyad square minaret, which was repeated in the other great Umayyad Masjid in Damascus and Aleppo.
We spent quite sometime in the masjid admiring the architecture and the layout, which mesmerized us all. It reminded us about the legacy of the second Caliph of Islam, Saidina Umar radiallah hu anh.