Columns Romanas in old Damascus

Ottoman houses in old Damascus

Al- Umayyad square
 Colorful pickles
Location : Bab Jabir, Damascus Old City - Syria
 Damascus - Grand Umayyad Mosque

Looking across the courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque with the minaret of the
Bride (the only original minaret) visible

The Grand Mosque of Damascus, also known as the Umayyad Mosque, 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 is of great architectural importance.

Construction of the mosque was based on the house of the Prophet in Medina.
The caliph asked and obtained from the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire 200
skilled workers to decorate the mosque, as evidenced by the partly Byzantine
style of the building.

The new mosque was the most impressive in the Islamic world at the time, and
the interior walls were covered with fine mosaics, considered to depict paradise,
or possibly the Ghouta which tradition holds so impressed Muhammad that he
declined to enter it, preferring to taste paradise in the afterlife. The building was
considered one of the marvels of the world, because it was one of the largest of its
time. The exterior walls were based on the walls of the temple of Jupiter and
measure 100 by 157.5 m.
 This mosque is one of the few mosques that has three minarets, Minaret of the
Bride
(9th and 12th centuries), Minaret of Qat Bey (15th century), and the Minaret of
Jesus
(13th century).

The Grand Mosque of Damascus, also known as the Ummayad Mosque, 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 is of great architectural importance.
The mosque holds a shrine which is said to contain the head of John the Baptist,
honored as a prophet by Muslims and Christians alike. The head was supposedly
found during the excavations for the building of the mosque. The tomb of Saladin
stands in a small garden adjoining the north wall of the mosque.
In 2001 Pope John Paul II visited the mosque, primarily to visit the relics of John
the Baptist. It was the first time a pope paid a visit to a mosque.
In an article titled “Syria: Crossroads of the Levant”, featured on Syria’s
Ministry of Tourism website, Richard Moore reports that “the highlight to the
Old City was the Umayyad Mosque..."
The spot where the mosque now stands was a temple of Hadad in the Aramaean
 era. The Aramaean presence was attested by the discovery of a basalt orthostat
depicting a sphinx, excavated in the north-east corner of mosque. The site was
later temple of Jupiter in the Roman era, then a Christian church dedicated to
John the Baptist in the Byzantine era.
Initially, the Muslim conquest of Damascus in 636 did not affect the church, as
the building was shared by Muslim and Christian worshipers. It remained a
church although the Muslims built a mud brick structure against the southern
wall so that they could pray. Under the Umayyad caliph Al-Walid I, however, the
church was purchased from the Christians before being demolished. Between 706
and 715 the current mosque was built in its place. According to the legend, Al-
Walid himself initiated the demolition by driving a golden spike into the church.
At that point in time, Damascus was one of the most important cities in the
Middle East and would later become the capital of the Umayyad caliphate.
Construction of the mosque was based on the house of the Prophet in Medina,
which had many functions: it was a place for personal and collective prayer,
religious education, political meetings, administration of justice and relief of the
sick and homeless. The caliph asked and obtained from the Emperor of the
Byzantine Empire 200 skilled workers to decorate the mosque, as evidenced by
the partly Byzantine style of the building.
The new mosque was the most impressive in the Islamic world at the time, and
the interior walls were covered with fine mosaics, considered to depict paradise,
or possibly the Ghouta which tradition holds so impressed Muhammad that he
declined to enter it, preferring to taste paradise in the afterlife. The building was
considered one of the marvels of the world, because it was one of the largest of its
time. The exterior walls were based on the walls of the temple of Jupiter and
measure 100 by 157.5 m.
The prayer hall consists of three aisles, supported by column of the Corinthian
order. It was the first mosque to have such a shape and this way, the visitors
could see the mihrab, the alcove indicating the direction of Mecca (the qibla), and
each other more easily.
The interior of the mosque is reminiscent of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.
It contains a large number of mosaics and geometric patterns. It is thought that
the mosque used to have the largest golden mosaic in the world, at over 4.000 m².
In 1893 a fire damaged the mosque extensively and many mosaics were lost,
although some have been restored since.
The minaret in the southeast corner is called the Minaret of Jesus as many
Muslims believe that it is here that Jesus will appear at the End of the World
 Old market in old city

Took this shot of the trip to Damascus in, is one of the old and famous markets in
Damascus, many shops on the sides and a long beautiful corridor, in front of the
historic mountain named (Qasyon)
 The Zaitun ( Olive) - Damascus

I was in Damscus Old City at one of the Gates ( there are 7 Gates to Enter the old
City) - Bab Jabir.Thsi area is popular with wet food, fish and vegertables. Since it
was Friday not many shops were open but fortunately all the food shops were
opened. I was amazaed by the way they varify the usage of zaitun in their food as
shown in the photo down.

Location : Bab ( gate ) Jabir, Damascus Old City - Damascus, Syria.

 An Alleyway in Old City, Damascus

It may look small and alley like but this is one of the oldest alleyway and some
nice boutique restaurants situated here.

Location : Old City, Damascus - Syria

Salah aldeen statue in Damascus near al hamedia market
 Snowy Damascus - This year

Abu Rummaneh Street on a snowy day. Mount Qassyoun is in the background

near ICRC office and USA embassy.
A street in Al-Malki, Damascus, February 15, 2008, these down pictures
 Toys world

Al hamedia market dollies shop

Gold market old Damas
Hamidiyeh Souk (Market), Damascus, Syria
 Christmas looks in Damascus, Syria

This is a part of how Christmas looks in Damascus, Syria.

I walked in "Bab Tuma" area where you can find lot of Christmas decorations
there.
It was nice walking in the market there, the weather was nice ~5 C, well maybe
not that nice, but I like cold weather
 Ananius Church

The story of Ananius is described in the Bible - he was one of Jesus Christ's 72
disciples and is known for baptising Savl who was sent by the Jews to Damascus
to talk the people out of Christianity. Ananius baptised Savl who got a Christian
name Paul and is known to us as Saint Paul. Ananius was sentenced to death
through stone-throwing by Licinius, the ruler of Damascus, for his preaching of
Christianity.
Streets Of Old Damascus
 Damascus by night from

A birds eye view of Damascus by night from Qasyoon Mountain

Damascus Sunset
 Palmyra Entombed

Reconstruction of one of the underground tombs in Palmyra. The National

Museum in Damascus is a superb museum, and as well as this tomb relocation &
reconstruction, which is wonderful, there is also the synagogue from one of the
great cities on the Euphrates. It's amazing that they've managed to rebuild these
things.
 cathedral of Maria

Cathedral of Maria in old Damascus one of many big churches in damascus

 Damascus street

Damascus, the capital of Syria, is maybe the oldest continuously inhabited city in
the world. It has occupied a position of importance in the fields of science,
culture, politics, art commerce, and industry from the earliest times. It has been
called Al-Fayha'a (the fragrant city), Al-Sham, Jollaq, and Pearl of Orient as
Emperor Julian named it. It was mentioned in the Holy Qur'an as the many-
columns city of Aram, ...whose like has never been built in the land. Early
references to Damascus such as those in Ebla tablets, confirm that it was as a city
of immense economic influence during 3rd millennium BC.
Ancient Pharaonic ******s refers to it as Dameska. It enjoyed great prominence
during 2nd millennium BC as center of an Aramaic kingdom under the name of
Dar-Misiq (the irrigated house). The Aramites were the original inhabitants of
Damascus, and their language was Syriac. Many villages around Damascus are
still known by their Aramaic names.
Damascus residential neighborhood
Damascus Bath
 __________________