The Great Mosque of Aleppo, also known as the Umayyad Mosque, was first built in the early 8th century on the site of a Byzantine cathedral, which itself stood on an earlier Roman building. It was the largest and most important mosque in Aleppo for over a millennium. The complex was heavily damaged during the civil war — the north arcade and courtyard were largely destroyed, and the 11th-century minaret collapsed in 2013 during the fighting.
Since the fall of the Assad regime in late 2024, work on reconstruction has begun. The mosque is deeply important to the city as a place of worship and as a symbol. Even in its damaged state, the surviving structure — particularly the Mamluk-era stone carving and the courtyard — gives a powerful sense of what was lost and what endures. Check local conditions before visiting as access and hours vary with reconstruction work.