The Mezquita de las Tornerías ( ar, al-Mustimim, script=Latn, italic=yes) is a Moorish former mosque in Toledo ( Castile-La Mancha,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

). It was built in the middle of the 11th century on the foundations of

Roman architecture Ancient Roman architecture adopted the external language of classical Greek architecture for the purposes of the ancient Romans In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome ...

, located in the old Muslim neighborhood Arrabal de Francos. Currently it houses the "Center Foundation of Promotion of the Crafts", that can be visited and hosts temporary exhibitions. The building continued maintaining the Islamic faith in Spain well beyond the

reconquista The ' (Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid ...

of the city by the Christian troops of

Alfonso VI of León and Castile Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsul ...

in 1085, until the period of 1498–1505, when it was desacralizated by the

Catholic Monarchs The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being bot ...

. Already as a building for civil use, it went through various vicissitudes, first as an inn in 1505 and then as the headquarters of different businesses and small factories or as a simple home. Its history was lost until the late 19th century, when historians investigating its origins didn't know whether it was a synagogue or a mosque. After the studies, on the 15 of March 1905, the finding of an Arab mosque in the street of the Tornerías was officially communicated to the Real Academia de la Historia.

Features

The mosque was built on the walls of Roman drinking water tanks for distribution of drinking water throughout the city. The great unevenness of the terrain makes its layout in two floors possible, which is unique. The ground floor, which is accessed from the street of the Tornerías, opens to the Roman water tanks with granite half-point arches. The upper floor houses the place of worship, retaining remains of the mihrab and the wall of the

qibla The qibla ( ar, قِبْلَة, links=no, lit=direction, translit=qiblah) is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Sacred Mosque in Mecca, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, particularly the direction of prayer for the ...

. Its construction was made based on one of the main mosques of the city of Toledo, the Mosque of Cristo de la Luz or of Bab al-Mardum of the 10th century. Its plan is irregular square and the interior spaces are organized like the former in a plan of nine square compartments, covered by sail-vault domes of brick, except the central one, with special relevance of its ribbed dome. The building has

horseshoe arch The horseshoe arch (; Spanish: "arco de herradura"), also called the Moorish arch and the keyhole arch, is an emblematic arch of Islamic architecture, especially Moorish architecture. Horseshoe arches can take rounded, pointed or lobed form. Hi ...

es on low columns with large capitals.

Dating

Historians cannot agree on its date of construction. It can be in the second half of the 11th century or in the second half of the 12th century.

Gallery

File:Visita a las obras de rehabilitación de la Mezquita de Tornerías (43539278162).jpg, Arches in former prayer hall File:Visita a las obras de rehabilitación de la Mezquita de Tornerías (41778262390).jpg File:Mezquita de las Tornerías, Toledo (6294139090).jpg File:Mezquita de las Tornerías. Toledo.jpg File:Mezquita de las Tornerías, Toledo (6293618769).jpg File:Mezquita de las Tornerías, Toledo (6293615349).jpg, Horseshoe arches inside prayer room File:Mezquita de las Tornerías, Toledo (6294137980).jpg, Roof File:Mezquita de las Tornerías, Toledo (6294142558).jpg File:Mezquita de las Tornerías, Toledo. Exterior.jpg, Top floor exterior File:Visita a las obras de rehabilitación de la Mezquita de Tornerías (43539302702).jpg, Restoration work File:Visita a las obras de rehabilitación de la Mezquita de Tornerías (29715908478).jpg File:Visita a las obras de rehabilitación de la Mezquita de Tornerías (42868522144).jpg File:Visita a las obras de rehabilitación de la Mezquita de Tornerías (29715936958).jpg

Notes

References

*Francoise de Montêquin, ''Compendium of Hispano-Islamic Art and Architecture'', St. Paul: Hamline University Press, 1976, ISBN B0006CR5E6, p. 209–210.

External links