The prayer-room with its carpet-covered floor. One of the largest naves in a religious building and the most majestic by reason of its Corinthian colonnades.
This view is taken from east to west, the building being oriented toward the south. It gives a much better impression of the vastness of the sanctuary, 136 meters by 37 meters (445 feet by 120 feet) and shows the imposing grandeur of its architecture to better advantage. It will be noted that the structure is like a basilica in style. The arcades are possibly in imitation of those of the Great Mosque of Cordova (*). The small domed aedicula to the left serves as a reliquary to the head of St. John the Baptist which was discovered in a crypt after the destruction of the church which had been dedicated in his honor.
(*) The Mosque of Córdoba was constructed starting 785 CE. The Great Mosque of Damascus was achieved in 715.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment