Al-Hawa Mosque
| al-Hawa Mosque | |
|---|---|
جامع الهواء | |
 Minaret of the mosque | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Islam |
| Branch/tradition | Sunni |
| Location | |
| Location | Tunis, Tunisia |
  Shown within Tunisia | |
| Geographic coordinates | 36°47′34″N 10°09′55″E / 36.79278°N 10.16528°E |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Mosque |
| Style | Hafsid |
The al-Hawa Mosque (
History
This mosque was built circa 1252[1] by Princess Atf, the widow of the first Hafsid sultan, Abu Zakariya Yahya (d. 1249), and mother to his successor, Muhammad I al-Mustansir.[2][3] Around the same time, Atf also commissioned the construction of an accompanying madrasa, the Madrasa al-Hawa or Madrasa al-Tawfiqiya, which was the second madrasa built in Tunis (the first being the Shamma'iya Madrasa).[4][5] The complex was built in what was then a suburb on the outskirts of the old city of Tunis.[2]
The mosque was used as an educational institution by Andalusi immigrants to the city.[1] As it later fell into ruin, it became an "outdoor mosque", on a hill overlooking the gardens and orchards in a place called "Rawdha Essououd".[1] Under the rule of Bey Husayn (1705–1735), the mosque was renovated.[1]
Architecture
The mosque consists of a hypostyle prayer hall without a traditional courtyard. The prayer hall is divided by rows of columns into 42 square bays, each bay covered by a brick-built groin vault of reinforced by arch bands.[6][3] The columns and capitals are spolia from older Christian buildings, as these materials were still available in the country at the time.[3]
The bay in front of the mihrab is covered by a dome with a cylindrical drum. On the inside, the transition between the square bay and the round dome is achieved by four squinches carved with scallop-like grooves. This is a feature with local precedents dating back to Aghlabid architecture in the 9th century.[6]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Lieux de culte Municipalité de Tunis" (in French). Government of Tunis. Archived from the original on August 11, 2009. Retrieved July 23, 2010.
- ^ ISBN 9780195309911.
- ^ a b c Marçais, Georges (1954). L'architecture musulmane d'Occident (in French). Paris: Arts et métiers graphiques. p. 295.
- ISBN 978-0-906559-31-4.
- ISBN 978-0-300-21870-1.
- ^ ISBN 9780195309911.
