The General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums has registered 9 new Syrian heritage sites on ISESCO's list, in a step that reaffirms the richness of Syria's cultural heritage.
The directorate announced on Monday (May 25th) in a Facebook post that the sites include the Umayyad Mosque, Qasr al-Azm, Salah al-Din Citadel, Damascus Citadel, Al-Omari Mosque, the Waqf Library, the Anbar Office, and the archaeological city of Afamia, in addition to the archaeological site of Al-Lajat.
The Directorate also stressed that this step strengthens efforts to protect and preserve Syrian heritage, and opens the way for broader cultural and technical cooperation with ISESCO, in order to enhance the presence of Syrian heritage on international cultural maps.
Ancient history. And a distinct cultural and civilizational position
Umayyad Mosque – Damascus
The mosque is located in the heart of the Old Medina, built by Caliph Alwaleed ibn Abd al-Malik between 705 and 715 AD, one of the oldest and greatest edifices of Islamic architecture in the world.
It includes a mausoleum believed to contain the head of the Prophet Yahya (St. John the Baptist), giving it exceptional historical symbolism.
The mosque is characterized by a unique architecture that is manifested in its wide open courtyard surrounded by art arcades, and in the middle of it are three historical domes, most notably the "Dome of the Treasury".
The edifice is famous for its walls decorated with gold-covered mosaics and its three ancient minarets (Issa, the Bride, and Qaitbay).
The site of the mosque underwent historical transformations, as it was an Aramaic, then Roman, and then Byzantine temple, before the construction of the current mosque, which succeeded in maintaining its global status despite being exposed to several fires and earthquakes throughout history.
Qasr al-Azm – Damascus
Built in 1749 by the governor of Damascus, Asaad Pasha al-Azm, it is a prominent example of traditional Damascus houses with its wooden and marble decorations and spacious courtyards.
The palace was transformed in 1954 into a museum of folk traditions, and today it is one of the most important landmarks of ancient Damascus listed on the UNESCO list.
Anbar Office – Damascus
The largest of the old Damascus houses, built in the mid-nineteenth century by the Jewish merchant Yusuf Effendi Anbar, before it was confiscated by the Ottoman Empire and turned into a sultanate school.
The building is characterized by its huge area and its design distributed according to the traditions of Damascus architecture, with walls decorated with stone inscriptions of Ablaq, and wooden ceilings colored in the "Ajami" style, andthe building was later restored to become the headquarters of the old Damascus district and a vital cultural center.
Damascus Citadel – Damascus
It is located in the northwestern corner of the old walls of Damascus, and was built in 1076 AD during the Seljuk era, then it was refortified in the Zengi and Ayyubid eras, and it is considered one of the most important Islamic forts in the east.
The first core of the castle was founded in the Seljuk era in the late eleventh century AD, but its current form dates back to the radical and comprehensive reconstruction carried out by al-Adil Saif al-Din Abu Bakr (brother of Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi) in the Ayyubid era, and then developed in the Mamluk era into an independent defensive and administrative center.
The castle is surrounded by a huge wall supported by 12 square and rectangular defensive towers, a moat that was filled by the Barada River to repel attacks, and the inside of the fort includes the remains of a Ayyubid palace, weapons and supplies depots, a mosque, in addition to the throne hall and fortified secret passageways.
Al-Omari Mosque – Daraa
It was established during the reign of Caliph Omar ibn al-Khattab in 14 AH (635 AD) during his visit to the region, and it was one of the oldest Islamic monuments in the Levant.
The mosque is characterized by its early architectural style built of black basalt stones that reflect the identity of the Houran region, and consists of an open courtyard surrounded by arcades based on historical columns.
The edifice underwent successive restorations in the Ayyubid and Mamluk eras, and has maintained its spiritual and social status as a major center for the people of the region over the centuries.
Salah al-Din Citadel – Latakia
The Citadel of Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi (formerly Zion), east of the city of al-Haffa, is one of the most important military architecture edifices in the Middle East, and has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2006.
The castle is centered on a towering mountain peak surrounded by deep valleys, separated from the nearby mountain by a huge moat carved into natural rock, in the middle of which is a rocky obelisk.
Several civilizations followed the site, starting with the Phoenicians, Byzantines, and Crusaders, who built its walls and circular towers, until 1188 AD, where it was controlled by the commander Saladin al-Ayyubid to move to the Ayyubid era and derive its name from it.
Afamia Archaeological Site – Hama
Located in the northwest of the governorate, one of the most prominent examples of Hellenistic and Roman urban planning in the Middle East.
The city was founded in 300 BC by the Seleucid commander Seleucus I Nicator, who named it after his Persian wife "Abama", to become the military capital of the Seleucid Empire and home to the great philosophers.
Afamia is characterized by its straight main street (Cardo), which extends for about two kilometers, surrounded by towering columns characterized by their unique spiral inscriptions, and the ruins include giant monuments, foremost of which is the Roman Theater, which is one of the largest theaters in the classical world, in addition to the Byzantine Cathedral and the Governor's Palace.
Endowment Library – Aleppo
The library was established in 1926 AD in the headquarters of the historic "Honorary School", to be one of the oldest treasures of heritage and rare manuscripts in the Islamic world, where the remains of manuscripts and books that were distributed in the mosques and schools of old Aleppo have been lost and damaged.
The library, located next to the Great Umayyad Mosque, houses a huge collection of more than ten thousand rare manuscripts, in addition to thousands of unique references in various jurisprudential, linguistic, and astronomical sciences.
It was subjected to extensive destruction and fires as a result of the military operations that took place in the Old City, which launched successive local and international initiatives to restore its building, digitize and preserve the remaining of its precious historical holdings.
Al-Lajat Archaeological Site – Daraa
The area is located in thenortheast of the governorate, and extends geographically to overlap with the western borders of Sweida Governorate, where it was formed geologically millions of years ago as a result of the flow of dormant volcanic lava that formed a huge basaltic basaltic basal basal, characterized by its rocky labyrinths, complex fissures, and natural caves that made it an impregnable military and defensive fortress.
The area includes hundreds of villages and archaeological sites built entirely of black basalt stone, documenting the settlement of the Nabataean, Roman, and Byzantine civilizations, and is of exceptional environmental importance, as UNESCO declared it in 2006 as the first biosphere reserve (human and biosphere) in Syria to protect its unique plant and animal diversity amid its dry rocky environment.
ISESCO The arm of the Islamic world for the protection of education and the preservation of cultural heritage
Established in 1981 and headquartered in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, it is one of the most prominent specialized international organizations operating within the framework of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
The organization has 53 member states and aims to strengthen joint cooperation among member states in the fields of scientific research, the development of educational systems, and the dissemination of the values of dialogue and peace among different cultures and civilizations.
The Organization plays a pivotal role in the protection of human heritage through its "Committee for the Heritage of the Islamic World", which is concerned with the registration, conservation and rehabilitation of archaeological and historical sites, as it pays special attention to sites that are at risk due to conflicts, natural crises and illegal trafficking in antiquities.