The al-Muallak Mosque (Arabic: المسجد المعلق, romanized: Masjid Al-Muallaq; Hebrew: מסגד אל-מועלק, romanized: Misgad Al-Muallak) also known as the Mosque of Daher al-Umar (Arabic: مسجد ظاهر العمر) is a mosque, located in Acre, in the northern district of Israel.
History
Up until 1746, the structure was used as a synagogue, called the Ramchal Synagogue,[1] by Acre's Jewish residents.[2]
Daher al-Umar, an Arab ruler of Acre, rebuilt the former synagogue as a mosque in 1758. It was built in a courtyard on the site of a structure commissioned by the Crusaders and which later became the gate to the Genoaese quarter of the city. The Jews owned the building when Daher chose to transform it into a mosque, but he compensated them by building a synagogue, located in Acre's Jewish quarter.[2] Leftover features of the former synagogue include the niche for the Holy Ark and inscriptions in Hebrew.[3]
Architecture
The mosque is positioned along the edge of Acre's Old City market, situated between Khan al-Umdan and Khan al-Ifranj, and is risen over the street.[2] From the outside, the main indicators of the mosque are its low-lying dome and the round base of its former minaret.[3] The mosque's entrance is located beneath the base of the original minaret.[3] The minaret was demolished by the municipality of Acre in 1950, citing a public safety risk.[3] The body of the mosque is mainly constituted by a large, square-shaped prayer hall,[2][3] A triple-domed portico precedes the prayer hall's entrance.[3] Beside the prayer hall is a smaller room that was used as a library.[2] A stairway beneath a covered entryway leads into the courtyard.[3]
References
- 1."Acre: Religious and prayer sites". A Guide to Israel. Archived from the original on June 9, 2009.
- 2.[2.2][2.3][2.4][2.5]Sharon, Moshe (1997). Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum Palaestinae (CIAP). Vol. 1. BRILL. p. 38. ISBN 9789004108332 – via Google Books.
- 3.[3.2][3.3][3.4][3.5][3.6][3.7]"Muallaq Mosque". ArchNet. n.d. Retrieved December 31, 2008.