Mahkamah Mosque

Coordinates: 31°30′6.98″N 34°28′10.99″E / 31.5019389°N 34.4697194°E / 31.5019389; 34.4697194
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Mahkamah Mosque
Mosque of Birdibak
Madrasa of Amir Bardabak
Religion
AffiliationIslam
DistrictGaza Governorate
ProvinceGaza Strip
RegionLevant
StatusDestroyed
Location
LocationBaghdad Street, Shuja'iyya, Gaza Strip, Palestine
CountryState of Palestine
Mahkamah Mosque is located in Gaza Strip
Mahkamah Mosque
Location within Gaza
Geographic coordinates31°30′6.98″N 34°28′10.99″E / 31.5019389°N 34.4697194°E / 31.5019389; 34.4697194
Architecture
TypeMosque-Madrasa
StyleBurji Mamluk
Completed1455
Specifications
Minaret(s)1
MaterialsStone, Marble

The Mahkamah Mosque (also known as Mosque of Birdibak or Madrasa of Amir Bardabak;

2014 Gaza War.[1] The mosque was located along Baghdad Street near the main western entrance of the Shuja'iyya district in Gaza City, Palestine.[2]

History

The mosque was built in 1455 on the orders of Sayf al-Din Birdibak al-Ashrafi, the

Muslim scholar Muhammad al-Bukhari. He reached high positions within the Mamluk state and built two other Friday mosques in Damascus and Cairo. The Mahkamah Mosque was originally part of a madrasa ("religious school"), and education served as the building's principal function. Prayers were also held regularly and on Fridays.[3]

During

Hashemite family who had died in Gaza in the late 9th-century.[5] On top of the mosque's entrance is the foundation inscription crediting Birdibak for the mosque's construction and honoring Sultan Inal.[6]

During the

Protective Edge".[2]

Architecture

The mosque was constructed in the

ablution places in the courtyard area.[7]

North of the courtyard is the

facade where the main entrance is located. The entrance portal is topped by a pointed arch with floral decorations. The northern part of the mosque consists of the entrance hall and three other rectangular-shaped rooms each measuring 3.77 meters by 3.69 meters. Each room, including the entrance hall, is topped by a small dome. The southern part of the complex was laid out in a similar manner, but is in ruins. The rooms on both sides of the mosque served as lodging for the sheikh and his students and provided other services as well. This particular layout makes the Mahkamah Mosque the only madrasa of its kind still standing in Gaza.[2]

The courtyard is bordered to the southwest by the

cross vault. It contains the mihrab ("niche" that indicates the qibla which is the direction towards Mecca) and the minbar ("pulpit").[2] The minbar is adorned with marble paneling, floral motifs and Qur'anic inscriptions.[8] The main section is bordered by two smaller outer sections with barrel vaulting and pointed arches connecting both structures with the main section. In the northwest, a smaller Mamluk-era iwan that previously faced the main iwan is extant.[2] The western facade is mostly in ruins as well.[7]

In the northwestern corner of the mosque is the Mamluk-style minaret. The base of the minaret is rectangular, while the shaft is composed of two octagonal stories topped by the octagonal muezzin's gallery. The sides of the base contain niches that "alleviate the austerity of the structure" according to Islamic art researcher Mu'en Sadeq. The octagonal levels of the minaret's body are designed with embrasures decorated with translucent floral and geometric ornamentation. The embrasures allow light and ventilation into the interior spiral staircase that leads to the muezzin's gallery which rests on stone muqarnas.[2]

References

  1. ^ "Long-neglected Gaza heritage wilts in war". Ma'an News Agency. 2014-08-14. Archived from the original on 2014-09-24. Retrieved 2014-09-17.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Sadeq, Mu'en. Madrasa of Amir Bardabak (el-Mahkama Mosque) Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. Excerpt from Sadeq's Pilgrimage, Sciences and Sufism: Islamic Art in the West Bank and Gaza provided by Museum With No Frontiers. 2004-2012.
  3. ^ a b Sharon, 2009, p. 166
  4. ^ Sharon, 2009, p. 41
  5. ^ Sharon, 2009, p. 44
  6. ^ Sharon, 2009, p. 167
  7. ^ a b c Shahin, 2005, p. 437.
  8. ^ a b Sadeq, 2007, p. 208.

Further reading

External links
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