146. ‘Ibellēn / ‘Abellēn | عبلّين

‘Ajlūn Governorate

Masjid Zahr‘ā al-qadīm

JADIS no. 221 9025

MEGA no. 5856

Coordinates: 32°21'09.4"N 35°49'32.5"E

32.352611, 35.825694

Plan: square to slightly trapezoid, divided by one central pillar and corresponding wall pilasters into two naves running parallel to qibla wall, each one forming two cross vaulted bays. The miḥrāb in the S wall is not corresponding to the exact qibla direction but it shifts about 35o to the SW. The miḥrāb is embedded into the S wall masonry and is reinforced at the exterior wall by a bridge- buttress. The niche of the miḥrāb is not in the middle in the wall of the SE bay but shifted to the right. On the right side, in front of the pilaster, it is flanked by a constructed stone minbār with three steps. At the exterior SW corner are remains of a massive, projecting cubic foundation element, most probably the remain of a square minaret. The present entrance leads from the E into the N nave.

Measurements: 125 m² (old mosque only).

Exterior: ca. 12 x 12 m.

Interior: ca. 10.5 x 10.5 m.

Building Materials: original masonry only at W exterior wall, but densely covered by modern plaster; all other exterior walls clad by new industrially fabricated limestone masonry. The interior walls are plastered, painted and whitewashed.

Construction details: The outside terrain is sloping from W to E. For this reason, the interior floor lies in parts on a considerable lower level than the exterior walking horizon. The pointed arches of the cross vaults are high. Centered broad ribs of the arches merge crosswise from the central pillars to the pilasters as it can be observed at the confirmed Ayyubid-Mamluk mosques at Rēmūn (no. 306) and ‘Ajlūn (no. 21).

Preservation: Renovated and a new larger mosque built at the N. The old mosque is still in use for Muslim prayer by women.

Inscription(s): none known.

Date(s): in origin most likely Ayyubid-Mamluk. Possibly the square minaret, of which only the foundation base is preserved, dates back to that period. Parallels for the plan are the mosques at Tibne (nos. 385-386), Hakamā (no. 119), Ḥawāra (no. 131) and the maqām on Jabal Ḥārūn (no. 151). According to oral information by local inhabitants, the mosque has been rebuilt from ruins in the 1920s. The old mosque has been abandoned in recent time in favor of a new building which has been constructed in the immediate N neighborhood. Fortunately, the owner of the ground refused to demolish the old mosque when the new one was built.

Traveler Reports: none known.

Bibliography: , MMU IV, 267 no. 6 (H. & O. M. Qawqanah). Web Site: https://ar.Wikipedia,org/wiki/مسجد_الزهراء_القديم_(عبلين)