Underground mosque
Underground mosques are mosques whose rooms and facilities are located below the surface of the earth. They were either erected beneath other buildings or lay freely in the ground with an inconspicuous appearance. The prayer rooms in underground mosques are usually very small, and they also have no minarets . Underground mosques are very rare, for example on Djerba and in Istanbul .
distribution
Djerba
In the south of the Tunisian island of Djerba there is an underground mosque near the town of Sedouikech . It is no longer used for prayers and can be visited. A mosque of this type can also be found near Ajim . It served as a hidden place of prayer for the Ibadis .
Istanbul
In Istanbul is the Yeraltı Camii underground mosque . It was built in the 18th century and is now in the Galata district . Originally, the mosque was located under a fortress that no longer exists today.
Jerusalem
At the end of the 20th century, work began on converting the underground facilities of Solomon's stables on the Temple Mount into an underground mosque. The Marwani Mosque is the largest underground mosque in the world and holds several thousand people. The construction work is extremely controversial. The Islamic Waqf , who administered the Temple Mount and initiated the construction work, is accused of destroying important archaeological evidence of the Jewish past of the holy place by building the mosque. In the excavation of the construction work, archaeological finds were made that are assigned to the Temple of Solomon .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Austrian St. Georgs College, Istanbul: Yeraltı Camii. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on August 29, 2007 ; Retrieved February 14, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Israel Interfaith Association (IIA): Visit to the underground mosque under Temple Square. Retrieved February 14, 2012 .
- ↑ Ulrich W. Sahm : Contested sanctuary. In: Sunday paper . July 26, 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2012 .
