The Great Mosque

The Great Mosque

The Great Mosque of Damascus was one of the marvels of the Islamic world in the 1300's. A temple to a Syrian god built in the first century A.D. originally stood on the site. It was converted into a Christian church late in the 300's. Between 705 and 715, most of the church was razed, and the mosque was built at the direction of one of the rulers of the first major Islamic dynasty, known as the Umayyads. It had marble paneling and immense glass mosaics, into which inscriptions from the Quran, the holy book of Islam, were incorporated. The mosque still stands today, though throughout its history it has been seriously damaged by fire, conquest, and other disasters and subsequently restored. It retains its original structure and layout, as well as some of the marvelous features that dazzled Ibn Batuta, including a mosaic of a beautiful landscape with a river, trees, and ornate buildings.

Source: Encyclopedia of World Art. McGraw-Hill, 1965.