Assad Mausoleum (Arabic: ضريح الأسد), commonly known as Hafez al-Assad Mausoleum (Arabic: ضريح حافظ الأسد), officially known as "Immortal Leader's Mausoleum" (Arabic: ضريح الزعيم الخالد) during the Ba'athist regime,[1] was the mausoleum of the Assad family, which ruled Syria from 1971 until 2024. It was mainly centered on the mausoleum of former President of Syria Hafez al-Assad and his eldest son Bassel al-Assad. The mausoleum was located in the village of Qardaha in Latakia Governorate, in the Syrian Coastal Mountains. The predominantly Alawite village was the traditional home of the Assad family.[2] On 8 December 2024, the fall of Damascus led to the fall of the Assad regime. On 11 December, the mausoleum was destroyed.[3]
| Mausoleum of the Immortal Leader | |
|---|---|
ضريح القائد الخالد | |
 Mausoleum in 2005 | |
 | |
| Details | |
| Established | 1994 |
| Abandoned | 11 December 2024 |
| Location | Qardaha, Latakia Governorate |
| Country | Syria |
| Coordinates | 35°27′35″N 36°04′03″E / 35.459765°N 36.067501°E |
| Type | Tomb |
| Style | Classical Syrian Modernist |
| Owned by | Assad family Ba'athist regime |
| No. of interments | Bassel al-Assad (1994) Hafez al-Assad (2000) |
History
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In 1989, the Syrian government commissioned architect Abdul Rahman Naassan to design the Naissa Mosque in Qardaha, which was named after Naissa Shalish al-Assad, the mother of then-President Hafez al-Assad.[4][5] From then on, Qardaha became the hub for the Assad regime's promotion of the "cult of personality".
In 1994, Bassel al-Assad, the president's eldest son and designated successor, died in a car accident. The Syrian government buried him near the mosque and built a mausoleum. On 10 June 2000, Hafez al-Assad died suddenly of a heart attack. After a state funeral in Damascus, his body was airlifted to the Naissa Mosque and buried in the center of the mausoleum. Since then, the mausoleum of Assad and his son had been guarded and maintained by the Syrian security forces and was open to tourists.[6] Bashar al-Assad, the second son of Hafez and the younger brother of Bassel, became the President of Syria after his father's death.[7][8]
After the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, the mausoleum was destroyed and the tombs were set on fire and burned by the Syrian rebel fighters.[3][9]
Architecture
editThe mausoleum was a mixture of classical Syrian and modernist architecture. The overall structure was octagonal in shape. The interior design was clean and restrained. The interior space was large and spacious, with multiple arched high-rise structures.[10] The exterior was decorated with excerpts from the Quran in stone in Arabic calligraphy.[6]
References
edit- ^ "الذكرى العاشرة لرحيل القائد الخالد حافظ الأسد". اكتشف سورية. 10 June 2010.
- ^ Balanche, Fabrice (2006). La région alaouite et le pouvoir syrien (PDF) (in French). Karthala Editions. ISBN 2845868189.
- ^ a b "Syria rebels burn tomb of Bashar al-Assad's father". BBC News. 11 December 2024. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
- ^ Miller, Majorie and Daniszewski, John. Mourners Say Goodbye to Syria’s ‘Lion’ Los Angeles Times. 14 June 2000.
- ^ Naissa Mosque Archnet Digital Library.
- ^ a b Daniel Demeter (12 September 2013). "al-Qardaha القرداحة". Syria Photo Guide.
- ^ "Bashar was elected as the President of Syria. Jiang Zemin sent a congratulatory message". People's Daily (in Chinese). 12 July 2000. Archived from the original on 17 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
- ^ "Bashar takes office as Syrian president". People's Daily (in Chinese). 18 July 2000. Archived from the original on 21 June 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ Liu Ziqin (December 2024). "[Video] The new Syrian government will disband the army and close the prisons. Assad's tomb was dug up and the body was burned". Report.
- ^ AFP (11 December 2024). "Tomb of Assad's father set on fire in Syria". Daily Sun.
See also
edit- Mausoleum of Ruhollah Khomeini
- Gamal Abdel Nasser Mosque
- Türkmenbaşy Ruhy Mosque (mausoleum of Saparmurat Niyazov)
- Hazrat Khizr Mosque (mausoleum of Islam Karimov)
- Astana Giribangun (mausoleum of Suharto)
- Mazar-e-Quaid (mausoleum of Muhammad Ali Jinnah)
External links
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