Aleppo, Great Mosque, studying and sleeping

Aleppo, Great Mosque

Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,132,100 (2004 census), it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant. For centuries, Aleppo was the Syrian region's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third-largest, after Constantinople and Cairo.

Aleppo is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world; it has been inhabited since perhaps as early as the 6th millennium BC. Excavations at Tell as-Sawda and Tell al-Ansari, just south of the old city of Aleppo, show that the area was occupied since at least the latter part of the 3rd millennium BC; and this is also when Aleppo is first mentioned in cuneiform tablets unearthed in Ebla and Mesopotamia, in which it is noted for its commercial and military proficiency. Such a long history is probably due to its being a strategic trading point midway between the Mediterranean Sea and Mesopotamia (i.e. modern Iraq).

The city's significance in history has been its location at the end of the Silk Road, which passed through central Asia and Mesopotamia. When the Suez Canal was inaugurated in 1869, trade was diverted to sea and Aleppo began its slow decline. At the fall of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, Aleppo ceded its northern hinterland to modern Turkey, as well as the important railway connecting it to Mosul. Then in the 1940s it lost its main access to the sea, Antioch and Alexandretta, also to Turkey. Finally, the isolation of Syria in the past few decades further exacerbated the situation, although perhaps it is this very decline that has helped to preserve the old city of Aleppo, its medieval architecture and traditional heritage.

The Great Mosque of Aleppo or the Umayyad Mosque of Aleppo is the largest and one of the oldest mosques in the city of Aleppo, Syria. It is located in the Ancient City of Aleppo, a World Heritage Site, near the entrance to al-Madina Souq. The mosque was built in the beginning of the 8th century. However, the current building dates back to the 11th through 14th centuries. The minaret was built in 1090, and was destroyed during fighting in the Syrian civil war in April 2013.

The construction of the earliest mosque was commenced by the Ummayad caliph al-Walid I in 715 and was finished by his successor Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik in 717. In the second half of the 11th century, the Mirdasids controlled Aleppo and built a single-domed fountain in the mosque's courtyard. At the northwest corner of the mosque, the 45-meter high minaret was built by the Shia Muslim qadi ("chief Islamic judge") of Aleppo, Abu'l Hasan Muhammad in 1090, during the reign of Seljuk governor Aq Sunqur al-Hajib. Its construction was finished in 1094 during Tutush's rule.

The mosque was restored and expanded by the Zengid sultan Nur al-Din in 1159 after a great fire that had destroyed the earlier Ummayad structure. In 1260 the mosque was razed by the Mongols. The Mamluks (1260–1516) made repairs and alterations. Carved Kufic and nashki inscriptions decorated the entire minaret along with alternate bands of stylized ornaments in patterns and muqarnas. Sultan Qalawun replaced the burnt out mihrab (niche indicating the qibla, or direction to Mecca) in 1285. Later, Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad (1293–1341) had the new minbar ("preacher's pulpit") constructed during his reign.

The haram ("sanctuary") consists of the main prayer hall to the courtyard's south, which contains the primary elements of the mosque: the shrine of Zechariah, a 15th-century minbar ("pulpit"), and an elaborately carved mihrab ("niche"). Although the central entrance contains an inscription attributing its construction to Ottoman sultan Murad III, it was built by the Mamluks. The hall has three naves, all lined with 18 quadrangular columns with cross-vaults. This large prayer hall originally had a basic straight rooftop with a central dome, but during Mamluk rule was replaced with an intricate cross-vaulted system with arches and a small dome over the arcades. The mihrab is deep and round and Zechariah's supposed tomb is to its left along the southern wall.

There are three other halls that abut the remaining sides of the courtyard. The eastern and northern halls each have two naves, while the western hall has one. The latter is mostly of modern construction. The east hall dates to the period of Malik Shah (1072–92) and the north hall was renovated during Mamluk sultan Barquq's reign (1382–1399), but largely maintained its original 11th century character.

(sources: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleppo and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Mosque_of_Aleppo)

Some rights reserved

Taken in: سوريا / حلب / حلب (show map)

Taken on: May 15, 2009

Tags:

Aleppo

Umayyad Mosque

Umayyad

mosque

UNESCO world heritage list

UNESCO world heritage

UNESCO

world heritage list

world heritage

heritage

study

studying

sleeping

World Heritage Site

2009

city

continuously inhabited

Silk Road

Ancient City of Aleppo

ﺣﻠﺐ‎

Great Mosque of Aleppo

Great Mosque

Umayyad Mosque of Aleppo

prayer hall

جامع حلب الكبير‎

جامع بني أمية بحلب « less

Sets appears in: • Public • UNESCO World Heritage more » • UNESCO World Heritage 1998 • More than 20,000 views • More than 15,000 views • Syria 2009 best • 2009 • Syria « less

Camera: Canon EOS 450D, f/5.0, 1/8 sec, 131mm, ISO 800 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 450D
Aperture:	f/5.0
Exposure Time:	0.125 sec (1/8)
Focal Length:	131mm
ISO:	800
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Not Defined
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Picasa 3.0
Show full info

Stats: 25,915 views / 1 comment

go back

Link to this photo view:
Link to this photo large view: