Contrary what by now is a largely discredited hypothesis of Wulzinger & Watzinger (also Henri Lammens and René Dussaud), namely that al-Walid's work merely consisted of converting as is the Church of St. John the Baptist into a Muslim shrine with the exception of few -and mostly cosmetic- adjustments, there currently exists a consensus that the Caliph, after demolishing the old structure in its totality (except for the monumental walls and corner towers of the old temenos which he kept to be incorporated in the new edifice), had in fact essentially constructed his mosque de novo.
The mosque is shaped as a rectangle 97 meters in width x 156 meters in length. It consists of a central court (approximately 122 meters x 50 meters with slight variation in the latter dimension between west and east) surrounded by a series of double arches carried on piers and columns from east, north, and west. The sanctuary (prayer hall) itself occupies the south side and measures 136 meters x 37 meters. Parallel rows of columns divide it into three aisles running transversally from east to west and covered with gabled roofs. A lofty transept occupies the middle of the prayer hall and is accessed from the court by a triple-arched gate to be addressed later.
Seen in the attached photo (late 1970's or early 1980's) is the north arcade dominated by a Minaret called al-Arus "the Bride". It is the oldest of the mosque's three minarets but the exact date of its construction is not clear. What is certain is that a minaret in this location was mentioned by the Arab geographer al-Muqaddasi in 985 CE as "recently built" but the current structure likely took shape in the latter part of 12th century, when it was replaced after a fire ravaged the north side of the mosque in 1174.
Ross Burns. Damascus: A History. Routledge 2005.
K.A.C. Creswell. A Short Account of Early Muslim Architecture. Pelican Book 1958.
Dorothée Sack. Damaskus. Entwicklung und Struktur einer orientalisch-islamischen Stadt. von Zabern, Mainz 1989.
René Dussaud. Le Temple de Jupiter Damascénien et ses transformations aux époques chrétienne et musulmane. Syria T. 3, Fasc. 3 (1922), pp. 219-250.
Karl Wulzinger & Carl Watzinger. Damaskus, die Islamische Stadt. Walter de Gruyter 1924.
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