Crowds flock to Umayyad Mosque for Syria's first Friday prayers after Assad

Thousands of Syrians flooded the Ummayad Mosque in the Old City on Friday for the first Friday prayers held since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad six days ago.

Abu Mohammed Golani, the rebel leader who led the lightning offensive that toppled the regime, had told Syrians to stop working on Friday and to celebrate.

Across Souk Hammidiyah, the labyrinthine market place, the shutters of shops were rolled down, still sporting the two-star flags of an old Syria.

But lining the main street were people selling revolutionary flags, which many toted in the crush past Roman ruins on the way to the 1,300-year old mosque at the heart of the Old City.

Abdullah Mohammed, 41, lives in Damascus and rarely attends Friday prayers at the Ummayad Mosque, but said he made an exception this Friday.

“Today is special. Before, we were slaves, but now we are free and we can say whatever we want,” Mohammed told Middle East Eye. “May god give us better days ahead.”

You can read Omar al-Aswad and Daniel Hilton's full report from Damascus below. 

Read more: Crowds flock to Umayyad Mosque for Syria's first Friday prayers after Assad