Descripción del sitio
This marker is part of an extended History of Islamic Architecture
Damascus
The Great Omayyad Mosque
706-715
During Roman times the site was a temple of Jupiter which was in the Byzantine era converted into a Christian church dedicated to John the Baptist. The Muslim conquest of Damascus in 636 did not affect the church, as the site was shared by Muslim and Christian worshippers. The Umayyad caliph Al-Walid I purchased the site and demolished the church. He built the present mosque between 706 and 715 with the help of 200 skilled Byzantine workers: e.g., the mosaics in the overlong (136 x 37 m) prayer hall. Most of this interior decoration was lost in a great fire in 1893. The mosaics on the outside are of recent date.
The building is a simple solution for the Islamic need for a space in which all could face Mekka and see the quibbla. It has been copied in a number of places (e.g. the Great Mosque of Diyarbakir, Turkey). Another early scheme to achieve the same goal is the Mesquita in Cordoba, Spain.
Interior
Photo kaizergallery.com
Floor plan from Archnet.org