Grand Mosque of the Umayyads, 2

Middle East and N. Africa By David D. Pearce

As the Parthenon is to Athens, and as the Colisseum is to Rome, so too is the Grand Mosque of the 'Umayyads to Damascus. Completed in 715 AD, the Grand Mosque is the oldest extant monumental mosque. Its rectangular plan, distinct from previous mosques that had square layouts, was likely dictated by the shape of the Roman temple compound that had stood on the site. The mosque is important in the development of Islamic architecture because it set the broad pattern for subsequent mosque design: prayer hall; colonnaded courtyard, minaret towers, mihrab (prayer niche facing Mecca), and minbar (pulpit). Having lived for four years in Syria, and having visited many times in over four decades of work as a journalist and diplomat, I knew this was a place I had to paint. I wrote about the history of the mosque and how I came to paint it in my April 2021 blog here. This is my second painting of the Grand Mosque. The first piece was Dome of the Clocks, Minaret of Jesus.

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