old damascus

Upload: faleh-zahrawi

Post on 30-May-2018

223 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    1/31

    Columns Romanas in old Damascus

    Ottoman houses in old Damascus

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    2/31

    Al- Umayyad square

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    3/31

    Colorful pickles

    Location : Bab Jabir, Damascus Old City - Syria

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    4/31

    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, andthe 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.

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    5/31

    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 Syrias

    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

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    6/31

    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 andmeasure 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 m.

    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

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    7/31

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    8/31

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    9/31

    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)

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    10/31

    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 wereopened. 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.

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    11/31

    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

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    12/31

    Salah aldeen statue in Damascus near al hamedia market

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    13/31

    Snowy Damascus - This year

    Abu Rummaneh Street on a snowy day. Mount Qassyoun is in the backgroundnear ICRC office and USA embassy.

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    14/31

    A street in Al-Malki, Damascus, February 15, 2008, these down pictures

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    15/31

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    16/31

    Toys world

    Al hamedia market dollies shop

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    17/31

    Gold market old Damas

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    18/31

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    19/31

    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

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    20/31

    Ananius Church

    The story of Ananius is described in the Bible - he was one of Jesus Christ's 72disciples 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.

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    21/31

    Streets Of Old Damascus

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    22/31

    Damascus by night from

    A birds eye view of Damascus by night from Qasyoon Mountain

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    23/31

    Damascus Sunset

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    24/31

    Palmyra Entombed

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

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    25/31

    cathedral of Maria

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

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    26/31

    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 ofDar-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.

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    27/31

    Damascus residential neighborhood

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    28/31

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    29/31

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    30/31

    Damascus Bath

  • 8/14/2019 Old Damascus

    31/31

    __________________