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The Omayad Mosque |
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Damascus Guide
City Guide:
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Is located in the heart of the Damascus at the end of
Al-Hamidieh market. It was built by the Omayad Calif Al-Walid Bin Abdul Malki in the year
705 A.D. The mosque is built on a spot that remained a place of worship of thousands of
years. It was temple for Armean Gods in ancient Syria three Then it became a temple for the Jupiter of Damascus during the Roman time and later changed into a church upon the spread of Christianity in the fourth century. After the Muslim conquer in 635 A.D., The Muslims and Christians agreed on sharing the place. When Al-Ealid decided to build a huge mosque he negotiated with the Christians of Damascus to build a new church for them in return for giving up their share, they agreed.
A large number of architectures and artists were massed to work in the project in addition to construction, carpenters and engravers who turned the mosque into a unique engineering piece that was a pattern for building mosques for several centuries all over the Arab and Muslim World. This Mosque is distinguished by having three very high minarets
built in different models. The upper parts of the minarets were renovated during the
Ayoubite, Mamlouk and Ottoman periods. The Omayyad mosque is
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thousands years ago. 
The construction of
the mosque took some 10 years and its cost was more than eleven million Golden Dinars.
characterized by its walls which are covered the
mosaic works embodying paradises of gardens, palaces, trees and rivers It also has a grey
upper dome (Kubbat Annisr). Inside the mosque lies the tomb of John the the Baptist who is
one of the sacred messengers for both Christians and Muslims. The Omayad mosque contains a
museum specialized in exhibiting the civilizations and artistic heritage throughout the
various eras of Islam.
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