Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque
جامع خالد بن الوليد
Ottoman mosque in Homs with two minarets and many domes, housing the tomb attributed to the commander Khalid ibn al-Walid; restored after war damage.
In the Khalidiyya district of northern Homs stands the Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque, the city's best-known landmark and one of the finest late Ottoman mosques in Syria. It houses the tomb attributed to Khalid ibn al-Walid, the companion of the Prophet and commander of the early Islamic conquest of Syria, who according to tradition spent his last years and died in Homs.
The tomb received attention over the centuries, including Mamluk works under Sultan Baybars. The present mosque was built in the early 20th century under Sultan Abdul Hamid II, combining Ottoman design with local building traditions.
The mosque stands in the Khaldiya district in the north-east of Homs; in a corner of the prayer hall is a domed mausoleum attributed to Khalid ibn al-Walid. It has two tall minarets and courses of alternating white and black stone in the Mamluk style known as ablaq, and older accounts differ on whose tomb it is.
Two slender Ottoman minarets, a large central dome ringed by smaller ones and bold black-and-white striped masonry define it; the tomb lies under its own dome in a corner of the prayer hall.
Note: photos may not reflect the site's current condition.
For the visitor
Location: 34.7368, 36.7156 · Open on the map
Photos
Photos: AAlsaiad — via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY) · Dosseman — via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA)
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