Letter A

39. ‘Aqaba, al- / Ayla | العقبة (أيلة)

al-‘Aqaba Governorate

Jāmi‘ - masjid - muṣallā

JADIS no. 1588001

MEGA no. 58061

Coordinates: 29°31'16.2"N 35°00'07.3"E

29.521167, 35.002028

 

 

Plan: The Muslim prayer room was established in the center of a row of rooms flanking the S rampart inside the castle, in axis of the main entrance; plan road rectangular with liwān gate in in the middle of the N wall, the  miḥrāb is shifted to the E part of the interior S wall.

Measurements: unknown.

Exterior: unknown.

Interior: unknown.

Building Materials: local limestone.

Construction details: masonry of carefully dressed blocks in isodomic bondage.

Preservation: Restored and used for Muslim prayer.

Inscription(s): The inscriptions in the N entrance date to the period of the refurbishment under the Mamluk Sultān al-Ashraf Qānṣūh al-Ghūrī and the Ottoman Sulṭān Murādi sālis (see Omoush - Jbour 2015).

Date(s): In the present condition, the ‘Aqaba fortress dates to the Mamluk / early to late Ottoman periods (MEGA), the buildings along the S rampart date to the later periods. The mosque has been recently restored. Traveler Reports: See Shqour 2015, 255-268; Shqour 2019, 162-180.

Bibliography: Glidden 1952, 116-118; Ghawanimeh 1984; Ghawanimeh 1986c, 311-318; Meulemeester - Pringle 2004, 26-27; Meulemeester - Shqour 2004, 121-123; Meulemeester - Shqour 2008, 72-74;  Housan 2008, 225-228; Pringle 2009;  Petersen 2012, 46 fig. 5; Omoush - Jbour 2015, 43-44 nos. 30-37; Shqour 2015, 248-281 (hi- story). 154-198 (archaeology); Tabbah - Taylor 2016, 270-271; Shqour 2019, 283-427 (history). 199-312 (archaeology); Schick 2020, no. 39.

 
Fig. 39.1 Ground plan of fortress with mosque in red circle (Petersen 2012, 46 fig. 5).
Fig. 39.2 Fortress, view of courtyard from S (TMW-K 2015)
 
Fig. 39.3 General view of SE part of interior courtyard (TMW-K 2015)
Fig. 39.4 Arabic inscriptions inside the outer liwān gate, commemorating the Mamluk Sulṭān’s al-Ashraf Qānṣūh al-Ghūrī construction of the castle (TMW-K 2012).
Fig. 39.5 Inscription medallion relating the Ottoman Sulṭān Murād-i sālis III (TMW-K 2012).
Fig. 39.6 Panorama of S and W half of the courtyard, location of mosque indicated by red circle (TMW-K 2012).

Figures

[Fig. 39.1 ]
Ground plan of fortress with mosque in red circle (Petersen 2012, 46 fig. 5).

[Fig. 39.2 ]
Fortress, view of courtyard from S (TMW-K 2015)

[Fig. 39.3 ]
General view of SE part of interior courtyard (TMW-K 2015)

[Fig. 39.4 ]
Arabic inscriptions inside the outer liwān gate, commemorating the Mamluk Sulṭān’s al-Ashraf Qānṣūh al-Ghūrī construction of the castle (TMW-K 2012).

[Fig. 39.5]
Inscription medallion relating the Ottoman Sulṭān Murād-i sālis III (TMW-K 2012).

[Fig. 39.6 ]
Panorama of S and W half of the courtyard, location of mosque indicated by red circle (TMW-K 2012).