Sidi Mahrez Mosque, also known as Mohamed Bey El Mouradi Mosque, is a

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, ...

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. It is an official historical monument.

Localization

This mosque is located in

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

area of the city.

History

It was built by

Mohamed Bey El Mouradi Mohamed Bey El Mouradi (died October 14, 1696) was a Muradid leader and Bey of Tunis from 1686 until his death.Ibn Abi Dhiaf, ''op. cit'', p. 76Ibn Abi Dhiaf, ''op. cit'', p. 83 He was the eldest son of Murad II Bey.Ibn Abi Dhiaf, ''op. cit'', p. 60 ...

, son of Mourad Bey II in 1692 in honor of the patron-saint of Tunis

Sidi Mahrez Sidi Mahrez ben Khalaf or Abu Mohamed Mahrez ben Khalaf ben Zayn ( ar, سيدي محرز بن خلف; 951–1022) was a Tunisian Wali, scholar of the Maliki school of jurisprudence and a Qadi. He is considered to be the patron-saint of the city of ...

. It also contains the tomb of Sidi Mahrez in a corner of the mosque.

Structure

It is strongly influenced by

Ottoman architecture Ottoman architecture is the architectural style that developed under the Ottoman Empire. It first emerged in northwestern Anatolia in the late 13th century and developed from earlier Seljuk architecture, Seljuk Turkish architecture, with influen ...

, showing similarities to the Sultan Ahmed II Mosque of

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

with a central dome with

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

s occupying the four corners of the square of the prayer hall. Polychrome tiles were imported from Iznik (Turkey) to cover a large part of the wall in the direction of

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...

and the grand pillars that support the central dome. The interior of the mosque was renovated in the 1960s. Bab Suika-Suker Square, Tunis, Tunisia, ca. 1899.jpg Mihrab Mhamed Bey.png Salle de priére Mhamed Bey.png Sidi Mehrez.ogv Mosquée de Mohammed Bey 11.jpg, External view of the mosque Entrée de le mosquée.JPG, Entrance of the mosque Détail ornemental.JPG, Decoration of the dome Sidi Mehrez 13.jpg, decoration of the mosque

References

External links

Mosques in the medina of Tunis Religious buildings and structures completed in 1692 1692 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Ottoman architecture in Tunisia Articles containing video clips 17th-century mosques {{Tunisia-mosque-stub