The most important monument in Damascus (دمشق), and perhaps the entire country, is the magnificent Umayyad Mosque (الجامع الاموي). No single historic site symbolizes the rich and varied cultural heritage of Syria as does this remarkable mosque. It has served as a place of worship continuously for several millennia, a holy place for over a thousand years even prior to the arrival of Islam. While …
While little remains of the Ayyubid-era al-Madrasa al-Aziziyeh (المدرسة العزيزية), the notable survival is the burial chamber of Salah al-Din Yousef Bin Ayoub (صلاح الدين يوسف بن أيوب). The Tomb of Salah al-Din (قبر صلاح الدين) was completed in 1196 during the brief reign of his son, al-Afdal Bin Salah al-Din (الأفضل بن صلاح الدين), over Damascus (دمشق). The surrounding religious school, of which only …
al-Madrasa al-Zahiriyeh (المدرسة الظاهرية) is an impressive Mamluk-era religious school constructed to serve as the mausoleum of al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baibars al-Bandaqdari (الظاهر ركن الدين بيبرس البندقداري). Baibars (بيبرس) was born in 1223 and first came to prominence as a commander of Mamluk armed forces. He was instrumental in the defeat of the Seventh Crusade of Louis IX of France and, a decade later, the …
al-Madrasa al-Aadiliyeh (المدرسة العادلية) is an Ayyubid-era religious school named after al-Aadil Seif al-Din Abu Bakr Bin Ayoub (العادل سيف الدين أبو بكر بن أيوب), a prominent figure throughout the early Ayyubid period and a younger brother of Salah al-Din Yousef Bin Ayoub (صلاح الدين يوسف بن أيوب). Construction of the religious school began during the late Seljuq period (1172-1173), but it was not completed …
Bab al-Saghir Cemetery (مقبرة الباب الصغير), located south of the old city, is the most noteworthy of the many historic cemeteries in Damascus (دمشق). This cemetery has been in use since the beginning of the Umayyad period, and several tombs are attributed to prominent figures in the early history of Islam. The attribution of these tombs is largely by popular tradition, often unsupported by any …
One of the most important Shia pilgrimage sites in Syria is the fascinating al-Seida Raqiyeh Mosque (جامع السيدة رقية). This modern, Iranian-style mosque receives a constant stream of pilgrims, mostly from Iraq and Iran, to visit the tomb of Raqiyeh (رقية). Raqiyeh (رقية) was the daughter of Hussein (حسين), the granddaughter of Ali (علي), and the great granddaughter of Mohammed (محمد). She was an infant …
Mohi al-Din Bin Arabi Mosque (جامع محي الدين بن عربي) is a fascinating place of worship in the northern Damascus (دمشق) district of al-Salhiyeh (الصالحية). The mosque contains the tomb of the renowned Sufi mystic Abu Abdullah Mohammed Ibn Ali Ibn Mohammed Ibn Arabi (أبو عبدالله محمد ابن علي ابن محمد ابن عربي), who lived from 1165-1240. Ibn Arabi was born in Andalusia and gradually …
al-Madrasa al-Jaqmaqiyeh (المدرسة الجقمقية) is a beautiful Mamluk-era religious school that now houses the Museum of Arabic Calligraphy (متحف الخط العربي). The building was constructed between 1419 and 1421 under the rule of Seif al-Din Jaqmaq al-Arghunshawi (سيف الدين جقمق الأرغونشاوي), then governor of Damascus (دمشق). He would later become the eleventh Mamluk Sultan of Cairo (Egypt), where he ruled from 1438 until 1453. He …
The modest but attractive al-Darwishiyeh Mosque (جامع الدرويشية) is located just beyond the western edge of the old city of Damascus (دمشق). It was constructed between 1572 and 1575 by the Ottoman governor of Damascus (دمشق), Darwish Pasha, who held the position from 1571 to 1571. His tomb is in a small octagonal domed building on the southern side of the complex, joined to the …
Hidden away in the markets of the old city of Damascus (دمشق) is Nur al-Din al-Shahid Mosque (جامع نور الدين الشهيد), the final resting place of Nur al-Din Mahmoud Zenki (نور الدين محمود زنكي). His father, Amad al-Din Zenki (عماد الدین زنكي), ruled over the regions of Aleppo (ﺣﻠﺐ), Hama (حماة), Mosul (الموصل), and Edessa (modern Şanlıurfa in Turkey) as part of the Seljuq Empire …
