Hama Mosque

Mosque Name: Jami’ Hama al-Kabir

Country: Syria

City: Hama

Year of construction (AH): 15 AH

Year of construction (AD): 637 AD

GPS: 35° 8’3.87”N 36°44’55.63”E

ArchNet: http://archnet.org/sites/3497

Gibson Classification: Between

Rebuilt facing Between: 1982

For a Link to the Qibla Tool Click Here

Description:

Located in Bab al-Qubli Quarter west of the citadel, Jami’ al-Kabir, or the Great Mosque, was build on the site of a Roman Temple built about 250 AD. The temple was converted into a Byzantine Church approximately 100 years later. Literary sources claim that around 636-637 AD / 14-15 AH the church was totally demolished and rebuilt as a mosque. This mosque no longer exists, and several renocations followed in 1134-1135 / 529 AH and the second in 1422 / 825 AH. Inscriptions in the prayer hall suggest a renovation took place in 1397-1398 / 800 AH. In 1982, the mosque was destroyed in bombardments to suppress an uprising. The Syrian Antiquities Department then rebuilt the mosque according to a historic design. This mosque now faces the Between Qibla.

The prayer hall has five domes in the shape of a cross, and originally had five entrances. Two are now converted to windows. The courtyard is enclosed by a vaulted portico and contains an elevated treasury like the one in the courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus (709-15 / 90-96 AH). There are two minarets. A square minaret is adjacent to the prayer hall and dates back to the early decades of the twelfth century, though sources vary on the exact date of construction. The other, near the north doorway, is octagonal in shape and was built by about 1427 by the Mamluks. The western portico opens onto a mausoleum containing the tombs of 13th century Ayyubid Caliphs.

The mosque was destroyed in bombardments to suppress a 1982 uprising in Hama. The Syrian Antiquities Department rebuilt the mosque according to an early Umayyad design. The photo below shows the courtyard in 1940 before the modern reconstruction.