321. Sāl | سال

Irbid Governorate

Masjid Sāl al-qadīm

JADIS no. 232 1002

MEGA no. 2786

Coordinates: 32°34'05.3"N 35°54'37.3"E

32.568139, 35.910361

Plan: broad rectangular, single nave, with three entrances in the N. Corresponding to the middle entrance, the miḥrāb is not axially in the S wall but slightly shifted to the W. In the corners and four wall buttresses support cross vaults dividing the hall in three bays. These bays are not equal in size. In the S wall are three double windows, a further single one is pierced in the W wall. To the exterior of the N wall are several modern extensions, especially a new entrance vestibule.

Measurements: 114.7 m²

Exterior: unknown.

Interior: 18.5 m x 6.2 m

Building Materials: limestone masonry with mortar. The exterior walls have been clad recently by modern stone tiles imitating isodomic masonry. The added entrance hall in the northern elevation is a concrete skeleton construction clad with irregular stone-mosaic tapestry. The interior prayer hall preserves the original cross vaults on corner and wall buttresses. The interior walls are thickly plastered and whitewashed. A wooden minbar has been placed in the SE corner of the prayer hall.

Construction details: The cross vaulted arches are semicircular in section without articulated borders. The bulky imposts rest on low buttresses in the corners.

Preservation: After restoration and modern extension still in use for Muslim prayer.

Inscription(s): none known.

Date(s): late Ottoman, a close parallel in plan is the mosque at Sōm al-Shunnāq (no. 368).

Traveler Reports: none known.

Bibliography: Qudat 2005, 21-27. 97 plan 1. 101-106 figs. 1-10; Ta‘an 2019, 116-117 figs. 3. 104-107.