The halls around the courtyard, which measures 60 by 42 m., are occupied by modern buildings and could not be explored. The three gates of the court are disposed of as those of the ʾUmayyād Mosque, as is the case of the minaret to the right of the north entrance. The gates themselves are of different periods; the west gate may belong to the first period of 747-748 (1346-1347 CE). The prayer hall, 67.2 by 12.3 m., originally had three naves, clearly indicated by the three deep recesses in the side walls, hence two arcades parallel to the south wall. The middle one (5 m.) is perceptibly larger than the outer two (less than 3 m.). Broad pilasters in the north and south wall, distant 12.2 m., that is, exactly the width of the whole hall, define a square in the middle and clearly indicate an original dome over the center. This central part opens on the court by three doors; the middle one is slightly larger than the laterals. The two lateral arcades must have ended at the cupola in two pairs of piers corresponding to the piers between the three doors. Thus, the virtual octagon was reached, and the cupola rose above it in the usual way. The arcade that roughly cuts through the whole length of the hall today is the repair of the eighteenth century, made after the cupola had crumbled.
The main accent is laid on the vast dome, which replaces the transept. Since it was the usual type of dome with an octagonal transition, the octagon was projected into the plan, and therefore determined the different widths of the three lateral naves: the middle nave has the same measure as the side of the octagon.
Ernst Herzfeld. Damascus, Studies in Architecture IV. Ars Islamica XIII-XIV 1948 (p. 118-138).
