The courtyard of the mosque designed by al-Walid I and completed just after his death in 715 by his successor Sulayman, was probably empty. This octagonal aedicule resting on columns with capitals was built in 787, after a first wider aedicule, the "Dome of the Clock", had been erected on the opposite side in 777. It was originally richly decorated with mosaics before being plastered in the Ottoman period, and restored in the middle of the 20^th century.

Frédéric Gadmer, 12 October 1921.