Inside the Umayyad Grand Mosque,An inspiration of a sense of tranquility& reverence [Archives:2005/870/Last Page]
August 22 2005
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Yemen Times Staff
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Religious tourism is one of the most wonderful entertainment and an informative experience one would acquire especially in visiting some of the multitude number of our Muslim heritage landmarks that tell the story of the greatness and glorious history of the great religion of Islam. In every Arab and Islamic country a visitor would find there is a rich inexhaustible wealth of Islamic heritage that would enrich the mind with magnificent culture and knowledge one cannot dispense with.
While last time I was in Damascus on my way to Baghdad, I thought I should not miss the opportunity of visiting one of the greatest and spectacular Islamic monuments still alive up till now, i.e. the Umayyad Grand Mosque in the heart of the Syrian capital Damascus.
The moment I stepped inside the marble-tiled courtyard of the mosque I felt awesomeness of the place and the grandeur of the historical mosque buildings surrounding the courtyard. Once you are inside the courtyard of the mosque you feel you are isolated from the out surroundings as if the place is sound-proofed. There is no noise you can hear despite of the many visitors frequenting the place. I was there a short time ahead of the midday prayer which was a god opportunity to perform prayers at this sacred Islamic landmark.
Once you are inside the mosque you can see the grandeur of the Islamic architecture of the mosque as it was built in 705 A.D. when Damascus was the capital of the Arab Islamic Empire. Inside the mosque one only hears humming of worshipper reading from the Holy Koran before the Azan calling for the prayer. I spent more than one hour praying and touring inside and out side the prayer hall of the mosque entertaining the gorgeous sensation of being between the hands of the Almighty God and feeling the ease and satisfaction you would sense inside such sacred Holy Places.
Inside the spacious prayer hall there is the tomb of Prophet Yahya and baptizing fountain and the altar of prophet Zakariah. It is really a place one has not to miss the chance of visiting.
The Great Mosque stands at the heart of the old city of Damascus at the end of souq al-Hamidyah. It was built by the Umayyad Caliph al-Walid Bin Abdulmalik in 705 A.D. when Damascus was the capital of the Arab Islamic Empire. Historically, when al-Walid decided to erect an impressive mosque suited to the grandeur of the Arab state “whose like was never built, not will ever be built after” as he is reported to have said, he negotiated with the Christian community of Damascus and undertook to construct a new church for them (St. John's) and allot several pieces of land for other churches, if they relinquished their right to their part of the mosque. They agreed. It took ten years and eleven million gold dinars, as well as a huge number of masons, builders, carpenters, marble-layers and painters to complete. It became an architectural model for hundreds of mosques throughout the Islamic world.
Prominent features of it are the three minarets built in different styles, the upper parts of which were renovated during the Ayoubite, Mamluk and Ottoman eras. The mosque has a large prayer hall and an enormous courtyard. The interior walls are covered with mosaic panels made of colored and gilded glass portraying scenes from nature. The dome is grayish-blue celebrated for its magnificence. The prayer hall contains domed shrine venerated by both Christians and Moslems, the tomb of St. John the Baptist.
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