Letter N
276. Nu‘ēme, an- | النعيمة
Irbid governorate
Jāmi‘ / masjid ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb
JADIS no. 2320007
MEGA no. 12617
Coordinates: 32°24′58.6″N 35°54′31.8″E
32.4162704, 35.9088269
Plan: rectangular, with wo free standing pillars in the center organizing the hall in two naves; the pillars correspond with pilasters along the interior room walls and in the corners. The northern wall is opened by three gateways, each in the center of the three cross-vaulted bays. The miḥrāb is in the middle of the S wall facing the central doorway in the N wall (fig. 276.1). The plan blueprints the ayubid-mamluke type of the mosque at Rēmūn (cf. no. 306), The strict E-W orientation of the old mosque caused an inaccuracy of the qiblā. For this reason, the miḥrāb has been modified in recent times (see below, preservation). In recent times the prayer hall has been extended beyond the N wall of the old mosque, divided by arched colonnades into three naves with a rectangular domed annex at the NW corner for the modern main entrance. A smaller dome sits on the corresponding NE corner of the modern hall. The broad nave in front of the old mosque is spanned by a second larger semi-globular dome in front of the central entrance of the old mosque. The lateral entrances of the old core building are embellished by architectural frames of half columns bearing engaged pseudo-Attics. The frame of the central entrance consists of broad pilasters supporting short engaged double columns with elaborate leaf-capitals and projecting profiled entablatures.
Measurements: 140 m2
Exterior: 12 x 6 m (Steuernagel 1927); ca 10 x 14 m2 (NAt)
Interior: unknown.
Building Materials: local limestone.
Construction details: unknown limestone masonry; the most recent extensions of the prayer hall are in concrete skeleton.
Preservation: intact, but extended in recent times to the N. The strict E-W orientation of the old mosque caused a not precise direction of the miḥrāb according to the qiblā. For this reason, in modern times an additional niche in a wooden construction has been inserted into the SE corner, the miḥrāb of the old mosque is blocked today by the wooden minbār. The mosque is still today regularly used for prayer.
Inscription(s): On the N outside wall of the old mosque sits an inscription slab above the central entrance, framed by the epistyle with the engaged double columns:
Transscription:
Translation: "May Allah reward ( the people of ) the village for their efforts to ( build) an Omari mosque for Allah in Al-Nu’aimeh which they constructed in the year 1324 H(ijri)."
Date(s): The plan model of the old mosque suggests an origin in the ayubid-mamluk periods in analogy with the mosque at Rēmūn (cf. no. 306). The strict E-W orientation may eventually indicate the presence of a Christian church as a predating structure. A rebuilding phase is dated by inscription to H 1324 / 1906 AD. More recent extensions and embellishments took place during the past two decades.
Traveler Reports: “Im Dorfe selbst stehen zwei alte Moscheen, eine 12 x 6 m messende im westlichen, die andere im östlichen Ortsteile” (Steuernagel 1927). The measurements given by Steuernagel, however, do not coincide with the old part of the present mosque.
Bibliography: Steuernagel 1927, A. 136; 439.
