Damascus
The Minaret of Qaitbay is the western of the Umayyad Mosque's three minarets, known in Arabic as al-Mi'dhana al-Gharbiyya. It rises from the south-western…
The Minaret of Qaitbay is the western of the Umayyad Mosque's three minarets, known in Arabic as al-Mi'dhana al-Gharbiyya. It rises from the south-western corner tower of the ancient enclosure on which the mosque was built. After a fire in 1479 damaged this part of the mosque, the Mamluk Sultan Qaitbay had the minaret rebuilt, and the work was finished in 1488, which is why it carries his name. It is an octagonal tower in the Egyptian Mamluk style of Qaitbay's buildings in Cairo, with bands of carved stone and balconies for the call to prayer, and it contrasts with the square Minaret of the Bride on the mosque's north wall. Its top was altered after the earthquake of 1759. The minaret is best seen from the end of Souq al-Hamidiyya beside the columns of the Temple of Jupiter, while the Minaret of Isa stands at the opposite, south-eastern corner of the mosque.