A Family Visit to the Umayyad Mosque

The Umayyad Mosque, built during the reign of Caliph al-Walid I (705–715), is among the earliest and most influential monuments of Islamic architecture. In this view of the courtyard, a mother and child walk across the glossy marble pavement, their silhouettes emphasizing the scale and openness of the arcaded colonnades and historic minaret. Built on a former Roman and Christian sacred site, the mosque remains a major center of worship and a model for later Islamic architecture.