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Mosques &
Shrines
Islam
Druze
Bahai
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AL=AQSA MOSQUE
Photo: Godot13
Jerusalem - Temple mount / Haram El Sharif
Al-Aqsa Mosque is also known as the “farthest mosque” in Israel. It is located in the old city of Jerusalem and is the third Holiest site according to Islam. According to the legend, Mohammed was moved from Mecca overnight to this mosque. The mosque has been rebuilt multiple times either due to natural calamities or invasions. It is very closely located to the Holy sites of Jews and Christians, making the area prone to controversy.
DOME OF THE ROCK/QUBBAT AL-ṢAKHRAH
7th century AD- Jerusalem
The Dome of the Rock, Arabic Qubbat al-Ṣakhrah, shrine in Jerusalem was build by Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan at the end of the 7th century AD. It is the oldest Islamic monument in Israel and is build on the site of the former Jewish Temple of Jerusalem on Temple Mount in Jerusalem that is known to Muslims as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf (“The Noble Sanctuary”). According to Muslims, the rock (above which the dome is constructed) is the spot from which the Prophet Muhammad was taken up into heaven for an encounter with God (an event known as the Miʿrāj). Some doubt this claim since the name of Jerusalem is never mentioned in the Quran. The Dome of the Rock shrine is beautiful designed and is clearly influenced by early Byzantine architecture and one of the most famous landmarks of Jerusalem.
GREAT MOSQUE OF NABLUS
Basilica of 3th century, rebuild by Crusaders & turned into a Mosque twice - Nablus
Great Mosque of Nablus (:Arabic: جامع نابلس الكبير Jami' Nablus al-Kebir) is the oldest and largest mosque city of Nablus. It was originally built as a Byzantine church and was converted into a mosque during the early Islamic era. The Crusaders transformed it into a church in the 11th century, but it was reconsecrated as a mosque by the Ayyubids in the 12th century. The mosque is located at the intersection of the main streets of the Old City, along the district's eastern edges. It has a long, narrow, rectangular floor plan and a silver dome.
An- Nasr Mosque: photo RehamOmarAbuSoud
AN-NASR MOSQUE OF NABLUS
Byzantine & crusader church rebuild into a Mosque - Nablus
The An-Nasr mosque with the remarkable turquoise dome originally was a Byzantine and Later Crusader Church. It was transformed by the Mamluks into the An-Nasr Mosque but in 1927 the mosque was destroyed by an earthquake that struck Nablus in 1927. The Supreme Muslim Council that was led by the later expelled Amin al-Husayni constructed the new designed mosque on the site in 1935
RUINS OF TWO OF THE OLDEST MOSQUES IN ISRAEL
RAHAT - 7th&8th century AD
The ruins of a 1200 year old rural mosque, one of the earliest mosques in the world, were uncovered in an archaeological dig in the predominately Bedouin city of Rahat north of Beersheba. “A local rural mosque from this early period is a rare find in the Middle East and in the world in general and especially in the area north of Beersheba in which a similar building has not been found until now,” said Shahar Zur and Dr. Jon Seligman, the directors of the excavation on behalf of the Antiquities Authority. “From this period, there are large known mosques in Jerusalem and in Mecca, but here is evidence of an ancient house of worship, that seems to have been used by farmers living in the area,” they added. “We found the ruins of the open-air mosque, a rectangular building with a “Mihrab” (a prayer niche) facing south, to the direction of Mecca. These features are evidence for the purpose for which this building was used, many hundred years ago.”
Paintings by George Washington Lambert: Depicts a landscape around Tiberias with fields, a mosque, white flat-topped buildings and lake Tiberias (the Sea of Gallilee) in the background.
TIBERIAS - 7th century AD
Archaeologists in Israel say they have discovered the remnants of an early mosque - believed to date to the earliest decades of Islam - during an excavation in the northern city of Tiberias. This mosque´s foundations, excavated just south of the Sea of Galilee by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, point to its construction roughly a generation after the death of the Prophet Mohammad, making it one of the earliest Muslim houses of worship to be studied by archaeologists.
Photo by Randa Fawzi.
MOSQUES OF HISHAM'S PALACE
8th Century - Jericho
Hisham’s Palace, sometimes referred to as Khirbat al-Mafjar, is an important early Islamic archaeological site which is located in the vicinity of the town of Jericho. On the site the remains of two Mosques can be found. It is difficult to establish a secure historical framework for Hisham's Palace. No textual sources reference the site, and archaeological excavations are the only source of further information. An ostracon bearing the name "Hisham" was found during the course of Baramki's excavations. This was interpreted as evidence for the site's construction during the reign of the caliph Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik. Robert Hamilton subsequently argued that the palace was a residence of al-Walid b. al-Yazid, a nephew of Hisham who was famous for his extravagant lifestyle. Archaeologically it is certain that the site is a product of the Umayyad dynasty in the first half of the 8th century, although the specifics of its patronage and use remain unknown.
AL NUR MOSQUE
1268 AD- Lydda
Lod is an ancient city, that is mentioned few times in the hebrew Bible and teh New testament. Between the 5th century BC and up until the late Roman period the city was an important center for Jewish learning and trade. It became a Roman Colony and was renamed Diospolis around 200 AD.
hristian tradition identifies Lod as the 4th century martyrdom site of Saint George. The Church of Saint George and the Mosque of Al Khadr located in the city is believed to have housed his remains.
Lod served as the capital of Jund Filastin until the seat of power was transferred to nearby Ramla. In 1268 the Mamelukes built a mosque on the ruins of the Church. It was named El-Omari, as other mosques that were built on top of ruined Churches. Omari (Omar Ibn El-Khattab) was the conqueror of the Holy Land in 638 AD.
Red Mosque: photo Bukvoed
RED MOSQUE
1275 AD - Safed
The Red Mosque in Safed, 2001. It was originally built by the Mamluk sultan Baybars in 1275, and renovated or expanded by the Ottomans in 1671/72
Grand Mosque of Ashkelon. Photo Danny Gershoni
THE GRAND MOSQUE OF AL MAJDAL
13th century - Ashkelon
The Grand Mosque of al Majdal is located on Herzl Street in the Migdal area of Ashkelon. Today, it houses the Ashkelon Khan Museum. The mosque was built in three phases: two early phases from the Mamluk period and the latest phase was built in the Ottoman period. In the 19th century,
Photo: Moataz Egbaria
FATIMA KHATUN MOSQUE
1566 AD (on top of 7th century remains)Jenin
The existing structure was founded in 1566 by Fatima Khatun, the wife of Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha, the Bosnian governor of Damascus during the reign of Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificant. Fatima Khatun paid regular visits to the area, but took a particular liking to Jenin while traveling towards Jerusalem for pilgrimage. In the center of Jenin, she decided to have the building established atop the remains of the old mosque. (A ruined mosque dating back to 636 CE stood on the site of the modern-day mosque. It was renovated during the Mamluk era in the 14th-century, but again fell into ruin.) Today, it serves as Jenin's largest mosque.
AL BAHR MOSQUE
1675 AD - Jaffa (Tel Aviv)
The al-Bahr Mosque or Masjid al-Bahr (Arabic: مسجد البحر, Misgad HaYam, meaning in all The Sea Mosque, is the oldest mosgue in the old part of Jaffa. Built in 1675, It is situated on the HaAliya HaShniya Street near the harbour. Due to its proximity to the Mediterranean Sea, fishermen and sailors used the mosque, as well as nearby inhabitants of the surrounding area.
Photo: Ori~
MAHMOUDIYA MOSQUE
Photo by: Zuhwr012
1730 &1812 AD - Jaffa-Tel Aviv
The beautiful Mahmoudiya Mosque (Arabic: جامع المحمودية, Hebrew: מסגד מחמודיה) is the largest and most significant mosque in Jaffa, now part of the larger city of Tel Aviv. It is composed of a complex of buildings arranged around two large courtyards and a third, smaller, courtyard. The buildings, gates, and courtyards were built at different stages throughout the 18th and 19th centuries during Ottoman rule.
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SIKSIK MOSQUE
1880 AD - Jaffa
Siksik Mosque was constructed in the 1880s by the prominent Jaffa's Siksik family. Mahmoud Yazbak names Hajj Abd alQadir al-Siksik as the principal founder of the mosque. It was built on the land of Siksik family’s orchard on the toad between Jaffa and Jerusalem. It was the second mosque, constructed outside the city walls. The mosque stopped being used for worship in 1919. In 1948, mosque's courtyard and part of the prayer hall were transformed into a café, and it was confiscated in 1965. The building also hosted a factory for the manufacture of plastic tools, while the second floor became a club for Bulgarian Jews.
Photo: Avishai Teicher
AL-OMARI MOSQUE
1743 AD- Tiberias
The Great Mosque of Tiberias was named after it's builder Daher al-Omar (1689/90- 1775) who built “The Great Mosque Tiberias” in 1743. It is located at the Khan square in old city of Tiberias and was build in the architectural style of Zahir. It has a combination of black and white basalt stones, a white dome and a minaret. In the 18th and 19th centuries it used to be the most prominent building in the town and it is often depicted in the oldest pictures of Tiberias. It was abandoned after teh evacuation by the British occupation forces in 1948.
Photo: Zairon
GREAT MOSQUE OF HAIFA
1775 - Haifa
Al-Jreena Mosque, Al-Nasr Mosque, or the Great Mosque of Haifa, an ancient mosque dating back to the Ottoman era in Palestine. It is located in the old city of Haifa. It is the second oldest mosque in Haifa after the small mosque. In 1901, the Ottomans built a clock tower adjacent to this building as part of several towers erected in honor of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. It was called “Al-Jreena” because of the large stone yard in front of it dedicated to grain intended for export abroad via Haifa Port at that time.
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Photo: Chadica
AL JAZZAR MOSQUE
1781 AD - Acre
Construction of the mosque began in 1781AD and they completed it within the year. The Turks built on the ruins of a Crusader church and kept the church’s large barrel-vaulted cisterns that lie beneath the mosque. Al-Jazzar took an active role in designing the mosque, although he had no architectural training. The mosque complex originally included a place for Islamic studies and accommodation for the students; a public library and an Islamic court. Al-Jazzar wanted the mosque to be much more than a place of worship.
WHITE MOSQUE OF NAZARETH
the White Mosque of Nazareth was build at the start of the 19th century. The construction of the mosque was funded by the Egyptian Ottoman ruler Sulayman Pasha al-Adil in the second half of the eighteenth century. It was constructed between 1804 and 1808. Sheikh Abdullah was granted its trusteeship in the form of a Waqf; he administered the mosque until his death in 1815. His tomb is located in the mosque's courtyard.
1804-1807 AD - Nazareth
Photo by Almog
OMAR MOSQUE
1860 AD - Bethlehem
The mosque is named after Omar ibn al-Khattab ( 581–644), the second Rashidun Caliph. According to tradition, Omar had travelled to Bethlehem in 637 AD to issue a law that would guarantee respect for the shrine and safety for Christians and clergy. Only four years after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammed, Omar allegedly prayed at the location of the mosque. The current mosque was built in 1860. It was built in 1860 on a plot given for the purpose by the Greek Orthodox Church and was renovated in 1955, when the Jordanians controlled the area. In the past, before the advent of light bulbs, it was common for Muslim and Christians in Bethlehem to offer olive oil to light up the surroundings of the mosque, evidence of religious coexistence in the city.
Photo: Patano
HASSAN BEK MOSQUE
1916 AD - Tel Aviv-Jaffa
Photo by Fipplet
The Hassan Bek or Hassan Bey al Basri mosque is a famous mosque in tel Aviv- Jaffa named after the Ottoman governor that build the mosque. It was restored after 1979 with funding from Jordan and Saudi Arabia and the minaret was rebuild twice as high as the original minaret.
Bahá’í Shrines & buildings
19th and 20th century - Haifa & Acre
Photo Jpatokal
Haifa and Acre hold the beautiful buildings and shrines of the Bahá’í' faith. The gardens and Shrine of the Bab on mount Carmel in Haife are part of the famous World Heritage Site together with many other Tempels and houses. The Holy shrine of Bahá’u’lláh and the Holy shrine of the Báb are the most holy places of the Bahá’í faith, and visited by thousands of pilgrims each year from around the world, provide an exceptional testimony to, and are powerful communicators of, the strong cultural tradition of Bahá’í pilgrimage.
Mount Carmel is also the centre for the Israeli branch of the Ahmadi (Ahmadiyyah) branch of Islám. The impressive mosque built at Kababir is, unlike the Bahá'í gardens, on the landward side of the mountain. Bahá'ís can quite legitimately say that the joint city of Haifa/Akká will become the world capital at some point.
PILGRIM'S HOUSE
A modest oriental-style stone building erected in 1909 as a hostel for Bahá’í pilgrims. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá authorized one of the believers to erect this building, which lodged pilgrims from the Orient for 60 years until 1969. It is now used as a place for the believers to prepare themselves for their visit to the Shrine of the Báb
HOUSE OF ABBUD
What is now known as the House of `Abbud in Acre is in two parts: the eastern part, which was the house of `Udi Khammar and the western part, which was the house of `Abbud himself. Baha'u'llah had one room of the eastern section to Himself, and it was there that He revealed his Book of Laws, the Kitab-i-Aqdas (circa 1873). Bahá'u'lláh wrote the Fire Tablet in the House of Abbud in 1871. Bahá'u'lláh wrote the tablet in response to questions by a Bahá'í believer from Iran. The tablet is written in rhyming verse, has the form of a conversation between Bahá'u'lláh and God, and reflects the sufferings of Bahá'u'lláh. Bahá'ís often recite this tablet in times of difficulty.