Emir Assaf Mosque

Emir Assaf Mosque
Arabic: جامع الأمير منصور عساف
The mosque in 2016
Religion
AffiliationIslam
Ecclesiastical or organisational statusMosque
StatusActive
Location
LocationWeygand Street, Beirut central district
CountryLebanon
Emir Assaf Mosque is located in Beirut
Emir Assaf Mosque
Location of the mosque in Beirut
Geographic coordinates33°53′51″N 35°30′21″E / 33.8975°N 35.5059°E / 33.8975; 35.5059
Architecture
TypeMosque architecture
FounderEmir Mansur Assaf
Date established1597
Specifications
Dome(s)Five
Minaret(s)One
MaterialsStone

The Emir Assaf Mosque (Arabic: جامع الأمير منصور عساف), also called the Babe al-Saraya Mosque (lit. Door of the Great Serial), is a mosque, located on Weygand Street, in the central district of Beirut, Lebanon.

History

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The site chosen to build the mosque was on the site of the former Byzantine Church of the Holy Savior.[1]

This mosque was inaugurated by Emir Mansur Assaf in 1597, on the former Serail Square. The Old Serail and the bath complex were replaced by Souk Sursock in the 1880s, while the Bab al-Saraya gate was removed in 1915 to make way for the new Foch-Allenby commercial district. In 1934, the mosque’s ablution rooms were built on the west side, in alignment with the street leading to Etoile Square.[2][3] Post-war restoration of the mid-1990s lead to the renovation of the original western façade of the mosque.

Architecture

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The square shape of the mosque, its five-cupola roof, the ablaq decoration of the entrance and the muqarnas detailing of the windows are characteristic of Lebanese style.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Amir Assaf Mosque". Come to Lebanon. 2024. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  2. ^ Al-Wali, Sheikh Mohammad Taha (1973). Tarikh al-masajid wal jawami’ al-sharifa fi Bayrout (in Arabic). Beirut: Dar al-Kotob.
  3. ^ Hallaq, Hassan (1987). Bayrut al-mahrousa fil'ahd al-'uthmâni [Beirut during the Ottoman Period] (in Arabic). Beirut: Dar al-Jami'at.
  4. ^ Hallaq, Hassan (1987). Al-tarikh alijtima'i wa al-siyasi wa al-iqtisadi fi Bayrut, [Social, Political and Economic History of Beirut] (in Arabic). Beirut: Dar al-Jami'at.
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Media related to Emir Assaf Mosque at Wikimedia Commons