Exploring the minarets of the Umayyad Mosque in Syria (Photo: Emily O'Dell)
Umayyad Mosque in Syria (Photo: Emily O'Dell)
In due course I entered Damascus and there I remained for nearly two years with no other occupation than the cultivation of retirement and solitude, together with religious and ascetic exercises, as I busied myself purifying my soul, improving my character and cleansing my heart for the constant recollection of God most high, as I had learnt from my study of mysticism. I used to go into retreat for a period in the mosque of Damascus, going up the minaret of the mosque for the whole day and shutting myself in so as to be alone…
— al Ghazali (d. 1111 CE)
After al-Ghazali left his prestigious academic post and wealth behind in Baghdad, he embarked on a “mystical” journey to Damascus and Jerusalem. While he was living in Damascus, he taught Sufism at the Umayyad Mosque–where he used to go on spiritual retreats in the highest rooms of the minarets. In fact, his name was connected to the southwestern minaret of the mosque, because of all the time he used to spend in solitude inside of it. He wasn’t alone–many Sufis used to gather and retreat in the spacious rooms of the mosque’s legendary minarets…
