Letter A

11. ‘Afana | عفنا

Today officially a quarter of the Rās Munīf municipality, located immediately to the NW of the mountain peak, ‘Ajlūn Governorate

Masjid Rās Munīf alKabīr
JADIS no. 2219011
MEGA no. 11420
Coordinates: 32° 22’ 52” N, 35° 48’ 17” E
32.381111, 35.804722

 

 

Plan: plan of the old mosque is no longer retrievable. Therefore, only the ground plan of the rock-hewn chamber underneath it has been documented during the JU survey.

Measurements: unknown Exterior: unknown. Interior: unknown.

Building Materials: unknown.

Construction details: unknown.

Preservation: The old mosque was totaly demolished in very recent years leaving no remains of the ancestor which was replaced by a new building. At the NE rocky spur upon which the original mosque rose, there is a carefully rock- cut cave of T-shaped ground plan with an elaborate entrance vestibule. The cave has no apparent burial elements such as shaft tombs in the floor.

 

Inscription(s): There is an Arabic inscription in five lines re-set on a white limestone slab in secondary use above the central N entrance of the present modern mosque. The irregular surface of the background and the red horizontal lines indicate that an older inscription had been erased to make space for the modern one (transcript by KK):

 

Translation: “There is no god but Allāh. Muḥammad is the messenger of Allāh. It was built in the reign of al- Ḥussein ibn Ṭalāl, year 1381 H.” (RS).

Date(s): The Arabic inscription reports a new construction of the mosque in H 1381 = AD 1961/1962. The pre sence of the elaborate Roman / Byzantine rock-cut chamber, however, supports the assumption that the mosque of 1961/1962 AD replaced an older ancestor, which G. Schumacher has been seen toward the end of the 19th century in ruined condition.

Traveler Reports: “Über einen Felsabsturz befindet sich die zerfallene dschâmi’ mit Rundgewölbe, miḥrâb und Zisternen... Das Mauerwerk zeigt verkröpfte Bossen.... Unter der Moschee ist in dem Felsen eine Wohnung aus- gehauen, deren Einrichtung die Abb. 61 zeigt” (Steuer nagel 1927). 

Bibliography: Steuernagel 1927, A. 134; 320; Mabry - Palumbo 1990,102.

 
Fig. 11.1 Sketch ground plan of the cave under the mosque by G. Schumacher (Steuernagel 1927, A 320 Fig. 1).
Fig. 11.2 Sketch ground plan of the cave under the mosque (NJ 2019).
Fig. 11.3 General exterior view from SE (TMW-K 2019).
Fig. 11.4 General exterior view from E (NJ 2019).
Fig. 11.5 Exterior view of new mosque from S (TMW-K 2019).
Fig. 11.6 Exterior view of new mosque from NW (TMW-K 2019).
Fig. 11.7 Interior view of prayer hall of new mosque with four columns (TMW-K 2019).
Fig. 11.8 Exterior view of entrance to the rock-cut Roman-Byzantine chamber under the mosque from E (TMW-K 2019).
Fig. 11.9 Interior view of the rock-cut Roman-Byzantine chamber under the mosque, W annex (TMW-K 2019).
Fig. 11.10 Interior view of the rock-cut Roman-Byzantine chamber under the mosque, N annex (TMW-K 2019).

Figures

[Fig. 11.1]
Sketch ground plan of the cave under the mosque by G. Schumacher (Steuernagel 1927, A 320 Fig. 1).

[Fig. 11.2 ]
Sketch ground plan of the cave under the mosque (NJ 2019).

[Fig. 11.3 ]
General exterior view from SE (TMW-K 2019).

[Fig. 11.4 ]
General exterior view from E (NJ 2019).

[Fig. 11.5 ]
Exterior view of new mosque from S (TMW-K 2019).

[Fig. 11.6 ]
Exterior view of new mosque from NW (TMW-K 2019).

[Fig. 11.7 ]
Interior view of prayer hall of new mosque with four columns (TMW-K 2019).

[Fig. 11.8 ]
Exterior view of entrance to the rock-cut Roman-Byzantine chamber under the mosque from E (TMW-K 2019).

[Fig. 11.9 ]
Interior view of the rock-cut Roman-Byzantine chamber under the mosque, W annex (TMW-K 2019).

[Fig. 11.10 ]
Interior view of the rock-cut Roman-Byzantine chamber under the mosque, N annex (TMW-K 2019).