Great Mosque of the ʾUmayyāds: Mosaics and Wainscoating

 

Between the columns, the cedar wood ceiling of the Mamlūk period (15th century). 

Above the Corinthian columns with two-colored imposts of porphyry and marble, this decoration of astonishing richness covers the vestibule (1) of Bāb al-Barīd (Postal Gate). The mosaics are of dominant green and gold (plants and roses) and cover the two levels of the arcade. They date back to the 8th century (2). The ceiling of painted cedar belongs to the 15th century and the Mamlūk era. 

(1) Western portico. 

(2) The mosaics were fabricated and installed at the initiative of the ʾUmayyād caliph al-Walīd I (705 - 715 C.E.).

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.