Vestiges of the Roman era and of the earlier Islamic period are particularly numerous at Buṣra (ancient Bostra), historical capital of Hauran and meeting place of the Prophet and the monk Baḥīra. In this picture we see the basalt colonnade of the temple and fountain dedicated to the nymphs. Nearly 15 meters high (about 50 feet), it encircles the minaret of the great mosque.
Not far from the church is the principal mosque, built, it is said, by the Khalif Omar. The roof was supported on colonnades, like the early basilicas; and seventeen of the columns are monoliths of white marble, of great beauty. Two of them have inscriptions showing that they formerly belonged to some church, but probably they were originally intended to ornament a Greek temple.
Jacques Ghislain de Maussion de Favières. Damascus, Baghdad: Capitals and lands of the caliphs. Translation to English by Edward J. Banks. Librairie orientale (Dar el-Mashreq), Beirut, Lebanon. 1972.
Josias Leslie Porter. Five Years in Damascus Volume II (p. 142 - 158).
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