Sheikh Ali al-Bakka Mosque or Shaykh Ali al-Baka Mosque ( ar, مسجد الشيخ علي بكاء) is a 13th-century

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

in the northwestern section of the

Old City of Hebron The Old City of Hebron ( he, עיר העתיקה של חברון ar, البلدة القديمة الخليل) is the historic city centre of Hebron in the West Bank, Palestine. The Hebron of antiquity is thought by archaeologists to have orig ...

in the southern

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. It is situated in the Harat ash-Sheikh (or Sheik Ali al-Bakka) quarter, one of the Old City's quarters, which is named after the mosque. The mosque was founded by the Husam ad-Din Turuntay in 1282 during the reign of

Mamluk Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...

sultan

al-Mansur Qalawun ( ar, قلاوون الصالحي, – November 10, 1290) was the seventh Bahri Mamluk sultan; he ruled Egypt from 1279 to 1290. He was called (, "Qalāwūn the Victorious"). Biography and rise to power Qalawun was a Kipchak, ancient Turkic ...

. Turuntay was the representative of the sultan in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. The sanctuary is named after Sheikh Ali al-Bakka, a renowned

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, ...

religious leader from

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

who lived in Hebron.Dandis, Wala
History of Hebron
2011-11-07. Retrieved on 2012-03-02. The minaret was erected by the viceroy and practical strongman of the sultanate,

Sayf al-Din Salar Sayf al-Dīn Salār al-Manṣūrī (–September or October 1310) was the viceroy of the Mamluk sultan al-Nasir Muhammad during the latter's second reign (1299–1310). As a boy he was taken captive at the Battle of Elbistan in 1277 and became a ma ...

(d. 1310).Sharon 1999, p. 60. The original mosque was mostly demolished, however the

minaret A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...

still stands and is viewed as an exemplary work of Mamluk architecture. Sitting on a rectangular base, its shaft has a hexagonal shape. The minaret base has an arched corridor which leads to the courtyard. In 1978 a new mosque was built on the site, but preserved the remains of the original mosque.

References

Further reading