Umayyad Mosque

UMAYYAD MOSQUE

Mosque established in Damascus by the Umayyad Caliph Walid ibn Abd al-Malik (705–715).

To construct and decorate the mosque, Walid employed the best craftsmen from Constantinople (now Istanbul) and from the Umayyad Empire. The design included a large open courtyard, a covered area on the side closest to the qibla (the direction of Mecca), and walls covered with elaborate mosaics. The mosque was one of the spectacular results of the building program of the Umayyads, who made Damascus the capital of their empire. The Umayyad mosque is one of the most monumental artistic structures in modern Syria.

muhammad muslih