UNESCO World Heritage
Umayyad Mosque
The Great Mosque of Damascus
Old Damascus · Damascus1–2 hours
Overview
One of the largest and oldest mosques in the world, built at the centre of the old city on a site with a long earlier religious history, and known for its vast courtyard and mosaic decoration.
Why visit
- Monumental early Islamic architecture
- Surviving Umayyad mosaics
- The spiritual centre of the old city
History
Historical background
The mosque was built during the Umayyad period, when Damascus was the capital of the caliphate. It lies within the UNESCO-listed Ancient City of Damascus.
Historical content is stored separately from live visiting information.
Architecture
A monumental prayer hall and arcaded courtyard, with surviving areas of gold-ground mosaic depicting architecture and landscape.
Historical layers
Periods recorded for this place in the DAHAB database. Open any period for its full history.
Things to see and do
Things to see
- · The courtyard
- · Mosaic panels
- · The prayer hall
Related places
Matched by proximity, category and historical era.
Nearby
- Old Damascus · 0.1 km
- Azm Palace · 0.1 km
- Khan As'ad Pasha · 0.2 km
- Straight Street · 0.5 km
- Souq Al-Hamidiyah · 0.5 km
- Damascus Citadel · 0.5 km
Straight-line distances only — never a road travel time.
From the same civilization