Sidi Belahcen Mosque

Sidi Bellahsen Mosque
مسجد سيدي بلحسن
Religion
Affiliation	Islam
Province	Tlemcen
Location
Location	Tlemcen, Algeria
Shown within Algeria
Geographic coordinates	34.882921°N 1.3112971°W / 34.882921; -1.3112971
Architecture
Type	mosque
Minaret(s)	1

Sidi Belahcen Mosque (Arabic: مسجد سيدي بلحسن), also known as Sidi Bel Hasan Mosque^[1][2][3] or Sidi Abu al-Hasan Mosque^[4][5] is a historic mosque in the city of Tlemcen, Algeria. The mosque is located in the southwest of the square, next to the Great Mosque of Tlemcen. Today it serves as the Islamic Calligraphy Museum of Tlemcen.

History

The mosque was founded in 1296 by the emir Abi Ibrahim ibn Yahya during the Zayyanid era as inscribed on the plank of the western wall in the prayer hall, as well as the two groves made of gypsum on top of the mihrab. The current name of the mosque is considered derived from the name of the local qadi and ulama Abi al-Hassan who served under the rule of the Sultan Abi Sayeed Uthman (1283-1303).

Architecture

The mosque has rather modest appearance compared to the other mosques of the same era. The mosque has no sahn and uses similar tiles for the floor and the qibla wall. The ceiling was consisted of interlocking logs made of cedar trees, which is the first of its kind in Algeria and predates three or four centuries the style employed in the Andalusian Moorish architecture.

Gallery

• 
  Muqarnas of the mosque
• 
  Mihrab of the mosque
• 
  Entrance

See also

• Lists of mosques
• List of mosques in Africa
• List of mosques in Algeria

References

1. Lafer, Ali. "Djama'a Sidi Bel-Hasan (mosque)". Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers. Archived from the original on 2023-04-28. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
2. Bloom, Jonathan M. (2020). Architecture of the Islamic West: North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, 700-1800. Yale University Press. pp. 183–184. ISBN 9780300218701. Archived from the original on 2024-01-14. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
3. Marçais, Georges (1954). L'architecture musulmane d'Occident. Paris: Arts et métiers graphiques. p. 272.
4. "Qantara - Mosque of Sidi Bel Hasan (Sayyidī Abū al-Hasan)". www.qantara-med.org. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
5. "Jami' Sidi Abi Hasan". Archnet. Archived from the original on 2021-11-27. Retrieved 2021-03-30.

Bibliography

• Bourouiba, R., L’art religieux musulman en Algérie, Alger : S.N.E.D., 1981, p. 108-129.
• Bourouiba, A., Apports de l'Algérie à l'architecture arabo-islamique, Alger : S.N.E.D., 1986. Basset, H. ; Terrasse, H., « Sanctuaires et Forteresses almohades », in Hespéris, V, Paris : 1932.
• Marçais, G., L'architecture musulmane d'Occident, Tunisie, Algérie, Maroc, Espagne et Sicile, Paris : Arts et métiers graphiques, 1954.
• Marçais, G., Tlemcen, Paris : H. Laurens, « Les villes d'art célèbres », 1950.
• Marçais, G., Les monuments arabes de Tlemcen, Paris : Fontemoing, 1905.