3DEPICSThe Epic of the Umayyad Mosaics
ملحمة الفسيفساء الأموية
Fires and earthquakes buried them, but the mosaics kept breathing until scaffolds rose to bring back their light.
By Architect Imad DarouichUpdated 2 min read
This short epic follows the Umayyad mosaics restoration that began in 1928, when researchers climbed wooden scaffolds to free colours hidden for centuries under dust after fires and earthquakes. Imad sees every tessera returned to its place as a star returning to the sky, and the mosaics of Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik as a nation's memory made of light.
لم تكن حجارةً على جدار،They were not stones upon a wall,
بل كانت دمشق تكتب نورها بالألوان.They were Damascus writing its light in colors.
قبل ألف وثلاثمائة عام،More than thirteen centuries ago,
رفع الفنانون السماء فوق الحجر.Artists raised the heavens upon stone.
ثم جاءت الحرائق والزلازل،Then came fires and earthquakes,
وظن الزمن أنه انتصر.And time believed it had won.
لكن الفسيفساء بقيت تتنفس.Yet the mosaics continued to breathe.
مختبئةً تحت الغبار والقرون.Hidden beneath dust and centuries.
وفي عام 1928،And in 1928,
بدأت رحلة الإنقاذ الكبرى.The great rescue began.
صعد الباحثون فوق السقالات الخشبية،Researchers climbed the wooden scaffolds,
كما يصعد الحجاج نحو الرؤيا.Like pilgrims ascending toward a vision.
كانوا يرممون جداراً،They seemed to restore a wall,
لكنهم في الحقيقة أنقذوا حضارة.But in truth they were saving a civilization.
كل حجرٍ عاد إلى مكانه،Every tessera returned to its place,
كان نجمةً تعود إلى السماء.Was a star returning to the sky.
كل لونٍ استعاد بريقه،Every color reclaiming its brilliance,
كان انتصاراً جديداً على النسيان.Was another victory over oblivion.
هنا يتكلم الوليد بن عبد الملك،Here speaks Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik,
عبر صمت ثلاثة عشر قرناً.Through the silence of thirteen centuries.
وهنا تتكلم دمشق،And here speaks Damascus,
لغةً لا تحتاج إلى كلمات.In a language beyond words.
فإذا سقطت الإمبراطوريات،Empires may fall,
يبقى الجمال واقفاً.But beauty remains standing.
وإذا مات الملوك،Kings may die,
تبقى الفنون حية.Yet art remains alive.
لهذا ليست هذه فسيفساء فقط،For this is not merely a mosaic,
بل ذاكرة أمةٍ من الضوء.But a nation's memory made of light.
وليست صورةً من الماضي،Nor is it merely a picture from the past,
بل نافذةً مفتوحة على الخلود.But an open window into eternity.
Imad Darouich3DEpic Studio – New York
بقلم المهندس المعماري عماد درويشBy Architect Imad Darouich · New York
For more on Damascus and its great mosque, read The Mosque: Architecture of the Soul and Islamic Art and The Epics of Damascus: Mirror of Mirage and Memory; the second is in the buildings and cities collection.
Written by
بقلم المهندس المعماري عماد درويش
Architect and author based in New York. He writes contemporary epics: long-form books about architects, buildings, cities and faith, in Arabic and English.