Emir Assaf Mosque

Mosque in Beirut, Lebanon
33°53′51″N 35°30′21″E / 33.8975°N 35.5059°E / 33.8975; 35.5059ArchitectureTypemosqueDate established1597

The Emir Assaf Mosque (Arabic: جامع الأمير منصور عساف) is a mosque located in downtown Beirut, Lebanon.

History

This mosque was inaugurated by Emir Mansur Assaf in 1597, on the former Serail Square that hosted Emir Fakhreddine’s palace and celebrated gardens. 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. Post-war restoration of the mid-1990s lead to the renovation of the original western façade of the mosque.

Architecture

The square shape of the mosque, its five-cupola roof, the ablaq decoration of the entrance and the fine muqarnas detailing of the windows are characteristic of Lebanese style. Gray granite Roman columns support the central dome in the mosque's prayer hall. There was a bath complex located opposite the mosque, and the city gate known as Bab al-Saraya.

See also

  • Foch-Allenby District

References

  • Al-Wali, Sheikh Mohammad Taha (1973) Tarikh al-masajid wal jawami’ al-sharifa fi Bayrout, Dar al-Kotob, Beirut.
  • Hallaq, Hassan (1987) Al-tarikh alijtima'i wa al-siyasi wa al-iqtisadi fi Bayrut, [Social, Political and Economic History of Beirut], Dar al-Jami'at, Beirut.
  • Hallaq, Hassan (1987) Bayrut al-mahrousa fil'ahd al-'uthmâni, [Beirut during the Ottoman Period], Dar al-Jami'at, Beirut.
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Mosques in Beirut
  • Al-Majidiyyeh Mosque
  • Al-Omari Grand Mosque
  • Emir Assaf Mosque
  • Emir Munzer Mosque
  • Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque
Mosques in Tripoli
  • Abd al-Wahid Mosque
  • Al-Attar Mosque
  • Al-Burtasi Mosque
  • Al-Tawbat Mosque
  • Al-Uwaysiyat Mosque
  • Mansouri Great Mosque
  • Mu'allaq Mosque
  • Taynal Mosque
Other locations