Letter H

131. Ḥawāra | حوّارة

Irbid Governorate

Masjid Abū-l Qāsem (az-Zawīyah)

JADIS no. 232 1006

MEGA no. 16618

Coordinates: 32°32'04.0"N 35°54'33.0"E

32.534444, 35.909167

 

 

Plan: square with off-centered door in the N wall facing the miḥrāb in the S wall; one window in the N wall of the E bay, two others in the centers of the W bays, a fourth one to the W of the miḥrāb. Two modern doors give access to an added prayer hall in the E. A central column supports the four cross vaults.

Measurements: 56.53 m2

Exterior: unknown.

Interior: 8.5 m x 6.65 m.

Building Materials: mixed basalt and limestone blocks of irregular squared shapes laid in 12 horizontal courses, bond with thick mortar in the joints; reuse of Roman or Byzantine spolia; modern blocks cast in concrete.

Construction details: The original floor has been considerably raised; for this reason, the miḥrāb appears only in the upper sector of the arch. The exterior frame of the original door in the N wall consist of cast concrete beams which have been whitewashed. In the center of the hall is one Roman basalt column shaft which supports the four cross vaults. The shaft is crowned by a cubic basalt block (fig. 131.6); it corresponds to corbel buttresses in the corners and the walls. The vaults have a semicircular, slightly pointed curvature with sharp borders but without separating ribs. The interior is entirely plastered and whitewashed.

Preservation: in use for regular Muslim prayer.

Inscription(s): none known.

Date(s): Mamluk (Dwekat 2003). A modern inscription mentions that the present mosque has been built on top of a Byzantine construction and an Umayyad succesor. The plan, however) compares with the Zaydāni mosque at Tibne (no. 385) and the masjid at Halāwa (no. 119).

Traveler Reports: “Beide Moscheen des Ortes sind Sammelplatz antiker Architekturreste. Zum Teil sind sie darin verbaut...” (Mittmann 1970).

Bibliography: Mittmann 1970, 127 no. 334; Daire 1988, 75 s.v. Huwāra; Dwekat 2003, 181-187 plans and sections on 155-156 figs. 37-49; Ta‘an 2019, 80-82 figs. 3. 39-43

 
Fig. 131.1 Sketch plan (DT 2018).
Fig. 131.2 Sketch section E-W (DT 2018).
 
Figs. 131.3-4 Sketch S elevations exterior (left) and N (right) (Dwekat 2005).
 
Fig. 131.5 Exterior N elevation (DT 2018).
Fig. 131.6 View of the NW bay with miḥrāb half buried by the elevated floor (DT 2018).
Fig. 131.7 Central basalt column supporting the four barrel vaults with view of the W interior wall (DT 2018).

Figures

[Fig. 131.1 ]
Sketch plan (DT 2018).

[Fig. 131.2 ]
Sketch section E-W (DT 2018).

[Figs. 131.3-4 ]
Sketch S elevations exterior (left) and N (right) (Dwekat 2005).

[Fig. 131.5 Exterior N elevation (DT 2018).]

[Fig. 131.6 ]
View of the NW bay with miḥrāb half buried by the elevated floor (DT 2018).