The Al-Khanqah al-Salahiyya Mosque ( ar, مسجد الخانقاه الصلاحية ) is an Islamic place of worship located in the
Christian Quarter
The Christian Quarter ( ar, حارة النصارى, ''Ḥārat al-Naṣārā''; he, הרובע הנוצרי, ''Ha-Rova ha-Notsri'') is one of the four quarters of the walled Old City of Jerusalem, the other three being the Jewish Quarter, ...
of the
Old City of
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, north of the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, hy, Սուրբ Հարության տաճար, la, Ecclesia Sancti Sepulchri, am, የቅዱስ መቃብር ቤተክርስቲያን, he, כנסיית הקבר, ar, كنيسة القيامة is a church i ...
.
[PASSIA ISLAMIC AND CHRISTIAN HOLY PLACES]
/ref> It was named after Saladin
Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سهلاحهدین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt and ...
, who endowed it. As the name indicates, the complex was originally a ''khanqah
A khanqah ( fa, خانقاه) or khangah ( fa, خانگاه; also transliterated as ''khankah'', ''khaneqa'', ''khanegah'' or ''khaneqah''; also Arabized ''hanegah'', ''hanikah'', ''hanekah'', ''khankan''), also known as a ribat (), is a buildin ...
'', a place for gatherings of Sufi Islamic adherents, including dervishes
Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from fa, درویش, ''Darvīsh'') in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage i ...
. The complex today comprises the mosque as well as a school, a public sitting room, rooms for military officers, a dining room for wayfarers, small rooms for guards, and a very small room for Saladin’s spiritual retreat.
History
The building is situated on the former palace of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem ( la, Patriarchatus Latinus Hierosolymitanus) is the Latin Catholic ecclesiastical patriarchate in Jerusalem, officially seated in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was originally established in 1099, wit ...
.
Following the Crusader surrender of Jerusalem to Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn (Saladin) in 1187, it became (). The building comprised a mosque, a school, a public sitting room, rooms for military officers, a dining room for wayfarers, and small rooms originally for guards, as well as a very small room for Salah ad-Din (Saladin)'s spiritual retreat. As the name indicates, it has also been a Khanqah
A khanqah ( fa, خانقاه) or khangah ( fa, خانگاه; also transliterated as ''khankah'', ''khaneqa'', ''khanegah'' or ''khaneqah''; also Arabized ''hanegah'', ''hanikah'', ''hanekah'', ''khankan''), also known as a ribat (), is a buildin ...
, a convent of Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
adherents.
The minaret was built in 1417, during the Mamluk period.[ Moudjir ed-Dyn (1876), p]
169
/ref> The minaret is almost identical to that of the Mosque of Omar, located on the other side of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The two minarets were obviously designed as a pair; a line connecting the two minarets would intersect the door of the Tomb of Jesus
The tomb of Jesus refers to any place where it is believed that Jesus was entombed or interred.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. It contains, a ...
inside the church, and the minarets are equidistant to that door[El Khanqah-Moschee in Jerusalem](_blank)
(German text and pictures at theologische-links.de) with their tops at exactly the same elevation despite starting at different ground levels.
Gallery
File:Mamluk mosque Jerusalem.jpg
File:Mamluk mosque Jerusalem 2.jpg
File:مسجد الخانقاة الصلاحية.JPG
File:Old Jerusalem St Francis street flags and minaret.jpg
References
Further reading
* (pp
87
91)
* (pp. 517−518)
*
External links
Al-Khanqa al-Salahiyya
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khanqah Salahiyya
Mosques in Jerusalem
Ayyubid architecture in the State of Palestine
Mamluk architecture
Mosques converted from churches by the Ayyubid dynasty
Christian Quarter