The credit of the oldest representation of the Omayyad Mosque goes to the Russian traveler Vasilief Gregorovitch Barsky who toured the Near East between 1728-1747 C.E. Older paintings of Damascus including the Mosque do exist, notably the famous Reception of a Venetian Delegation in Damascus in 1511 (3), but Barsky's was the first independent illustration of the temple.
Essentially, Barsky got the salient features of the edifice right: the location of the minarets, the transept surmounted by the Dome of the Eagle, the Treasury in the courtyard, Jayrun's Gate with the stairs leading to the fountain "al-Nofara". As for the error of substituting the crescents above the minarets and the central dome with crosses, two factors should be kept in mind:
1. Most orientalists and travelers prior to the 19th century were under the impression that Caliph al-Walid had simply converted St. John Baptist Church to a mosque with no substantial change in its layout and essential features. Such was the view of the French diplomat Chevalier Laurent D'Arvieux (1635-1702) who visited the Levant in the late 1650's when he opined (page 452-453 of his memoirs 4) that "this mosque is constructed after the manner of our churches, the Turks have changed nothing in it".
2. Christians and Jews (and all non-Muslims) had been denied entry to the Mosque until mid 19th century. That in mind, Mr. Barsky's representation was as accurate as one can get at the time. It goes without saying that the Mosque was amply described by numerous Muslim authors in the past, most precisely by the Andalusian ibn Jubayr in the 12th century but his and his peers' were merely written narratives devoid of illustrations.
1. René Dussaud, Le Temple de Jupiter damascénien
Essentially, Barsky got the salient features of the edifice right: the location of the minarets, the transept surmounted by the Dome of the Eagle, the Treasury in the courtyard, Jayrun's Gate with the stairs leading to the fountain "al-Nofara". As for the error of substituting the crescents above the minarets and the central dome with crosses, two factors should be kept in mind:
1. Most orientalists and travelers prior to the 19th century were under the impression that Caliph al-Walid had simply converted St. John Baptist Church to a mosque with no substantial change in its layout and essential features. Such was the view of the French diplomat Chevalier Laurent D'Arvieux (1635-1702) who visited the Levant in the late 1650's when he opined (page 452-453 of his memoirs 4) that "this mosque is constructed after the manner of our churches, the Turks have changed nothing in it".
2. Christians and Jews (and all non-Muslims) had been denied entry to the Mosque until mid 19th century. That in mind, Mr. Barsky's representation was as accurate as one can get at the time. It goes without saying that the Mosque was amply described by numerous Muslim authors in the past, most precisely by the Andalusian ibn Jubayr in the 12th century but his and his peers' were merely written narratives devoid of illustrations.
1. René Dussaud, Le Temple de Jupiter damascénien
Syria III, 1922, P 219-250
Gravure de Barsky, P. 249
2. Gérard Degeorge
Syrie
Art, Histoire, Architecture
Hermann, éditeurs des sciences et des arts
1983
3. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Reception_of_a_Venetian_Delegation_in_Damascus_in_1511_-_Unknown_artist_-_Louvre_INV_100
4. https://books.google.com/books?id=DfFaAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA120&lpg=PA120&dq=d%27arvieux+damas+jean+baptiste+eglise&source=bl&ots=FDBA4RLdMP&sig=2JIgZxcILdPsZ87zeHVZxpr6q1E&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjwgMr19fPVAhWd2YMKHd1qBPcQ6AEISzAK#v=onepage&q=d'arvieux%20damas%20jean%20baptiste%20eglise&f=false
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