A glimpse into the Umayyad Mosque at Maghreb Prayer

After some shopping at the Hamidiyye Souq we went to the Umayyad Mosque to pray the Maghreb prayer.

The Umayyad Mosque is also known as the Grand Mosque of Damascus. It is one of largest mosques in the world and holds a great religious significance. Before the Muslim conquest, it was a church. Damascus was the head office for the Umayyad dynasty from approx. year 660 -750. After that the head office became Cordaba and the new dynasty was called the Abbaside dynasty.

One of the Minarets is spotted through the old Roman Ruins.
Look at the huge crowd. All moving to Mosque to pray.

This is one of many places to make ablution (wudu). This is obligatory before praying.

Here is the shrine of John the Baptist. Unfortunately some people think he has some kind of saint function and therefore ask him for some favours, instead of turning directly towards Allah.
Next to the mosque is the tomb of Hero Salahuddin al Ayoubi (born 1138), who was a Kurdish Muslim general and founded the Ayyoubid dynasty.

The ceiling. Look at how well decorated it is. It is made of mosaics and geometric patterns.
This is in another room. Wonderful colours.
The interior is decorated in fine mosaics and was inspired by the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.

Art!
It is told that that these walls depict Paradise...

I must state that this Mosque looks very different at magreb time, when the sun is setting. It is very beautiful.

Huge area!
Just lovely at night!

Kids resting after playing in the big court yard of the mosque.

This is taken from the inside facing the gate out to the souq. You can see the Roman ruins.

It is dark now, You can spot the moon.

Allah yehmeekee ya Sham

Sabarah

It has been a long time since I have been blogging, but I have been really busy. I'll try to post a bit more often inshaAllah

I thought I'd give my favourite fruit in Syria a tribute:)

I love Sabarah, it's really good, healthy and delicious of course!

Here you can see a cactus fruit stand. They are everywhere in the city. I also like eating corncob's but I am afraid of getting sick from the water...:(

Here is a stand in Souq al Kaslaneen in Sha3lan. The picture is taken by my sister. In the night time these stands will be glowing by chains of light bulbs. Some big stands have seats, so that you can sit down and enjoy your sabarah.

If you don't know what the fruit looks like, you can see it here:

taken from: http://www.harald-zappe.de/me/exotic/exotic.html

The fruit has has approximately 85% water, 10-15% carbohydrates, with a big amount of Vitamin C, 6-8% glucose and fructose levels, very high in fiber, minerals and low in calories. SubhanAllah!

ENJOY!