The Maqam Nabi Yusha' () is a historic religious complex located in the city of

As-Salt Al-Salt ( ''Al-Salt''), also known as Salt, is an ancient trading city and administrative centre in west-central Jordan. It is on the old main highway leading from Amman to Jerusalem. Situated in the Balqa (region), Balqa highland, about 790– ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

. It consists of a modern mosque and the 16th-century mausoleum which is attributed to the biblical

Joshua Joshua ( ), also known as Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' Literal translation, lit. 'Yahweh is salvation'), Jehoshua, or Josue, functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Book of Exodus, Exodus and ...

History

The mausoleum dedicated to Joshua was built during the

Mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...

period by the governor, Emir Mahdawi. The mausoleum was then rebuilt in the 16th century, during the early years of Ottoman rule. Then, during the rule of

King Abdullah II Abdullah II (Abdullah bin Hussein; born 30 January 1962) is King of Jordan, having ascended the throne on 7 February 1999. He is a member of the Hashemites, who have been the reigning royal family of Jordan since 1921, and is traditionally reg ...

, a new mosque and building with facilities was attached to the mausoleum. The mausoleum was also renovated. Restorations were fully completed in 2004 and the new religious complex was opened in the same year.

General specifications

The religious complex comprises the mausoleum, mosque, as well as facilities for civilians, such as a multi-purpose hall, a library, a cafeteria, a residence for the mosque's

imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

and a residence for the

muezzin The muezzin (; ), also spelled mu'azzin, is the person who proclaims the call to the daily prayer ( ṣalāt) five times a day ( Fajr prayer, Zuhr prayer, Asr prayer, Maghrib prayer and Isha prayer) at a mosque from the minaret. The muezzin ...

. The total interior area of the mosque is 1,400 metres. A cemetery exists outside the wall of the mausoleum, where devotees and their families are buried.

Architectural features

Mausoleum

The purported mausoleum of Joshua is the oldest part of the religious complex, dating to the 16th-century with foundation from the Mamluk period. Inside, the cenotaph placed over Joshua's alleged grave is more than six metres long, and covered by a green cloth. The mausoleum has always been a holy and spiritual site for the residents of As-Salt.

Mosque

The mosque attached to the mausoleum was completed in 2004 and opened in the same year. It is a relatively modern structure. The minaret of the mosque is 27 metres tall from the ground up. Prayer halls in the mosque are gender segregated as well.

Gallery

File:Joshua's Tomb in Jordan 05.jpg, A plaque which was placed on a wall of the mosque, indicating the opening of the modern building to be in the year 2004 File:Joshua's Tomb in Jordan 04.jpg, Inside the courtyard of the modern structure File:Joshua's Tomb in Jordan 02.jpg, The prayer hall of the modern mosque, with

mihrab ''Mihrab'' (, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "''qibla'' wall". ...

and

minbar A minbar (; sometimes romanized as ''mimber'') is a pulpit in a mosque where the imam (leader of prayers) stands to deliver sermons (, ''khutbah''). It is also used in other similar contexts, such as in a Hussainiya where the speaker sits and le ...

visible File:Joshua's Tomb in Jordan 03.jpg, Another view of Joshua's purported grave

References

{{reflist Mosques in Jordan