Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque

The Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque in Aleppo is one of several mosques in the historic centres of major Levantine cities named in honour of Khalid ibn al-Walid — the celebrated Companion of the Prophet Muhammad and military commander whose successful Arab Muslim campaigns against the Byzantine and Sassanid empires in the 630s CE laid the foundations of the early Islamic conquest of the Levant. (The most famous mosque of this name is in Homs in central Syria, where Khalid is buried; the Aleppo mosque is a separate dedication.) Aleppo has been a major Muslim religious centre since shortly after the Arab conquest of the city in 637 CE under Khalid himself, and the old city of Aleppo — a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986 — contains a remarkable concentration of historic mosques, madrasas, mausoleums, hammams and caravanserais from every major Islamic period from Umayyad through Ottoman. The mosque continues to serve the substantial Muslim community of its surrounding neighbourhood. Aleppo and its religious heritage suffered very significant damage during the Syrian civil war between 2012 and 2016, with the historic Umayyad Mosque's minaret destroyed and major damage to the surrounding old city; restoration efforts have been ongoing in subsequent years and conditions for visitors and worshippers continue to evolve.