The Venetian embassy received by the Ottoman court in Damascus stands before one of the city gates. In the background, dominating the horizon, is the Great Umayyad Mosque, topped by its three tall minarets and high dome. Though the drum of the dome resembles the pantheon more than the drum of the mosque, the arrangement of the minarets seems to bear out contemporary descriptions and shows how they would have looked at the very beginning of the 16^th century, before the earthquake of 1759 led to significant alterations. Entourage of Mansueti Giovanni di Nicolo, circa 1511