Mosque Name: Sawafa Mosque
Country: Iraq
City: Erbil
Year of construction (AH): unknown
Year of construction (AD): 8th century
GPS: 36.183528 44.003195
Original Qibla: Unknown - the yard faces Petra
Rebuilt facing Mecca: 1719 AD
For a Link to the Qibla Tool Click Here
Description:
Slightly south and west of the Erbil citadel is the Sawaf Mosque. The original mosque on this site has been completely demolished and removed so that a more modern mosque could be built. The new mosque is the second largest mosque in Erbil. Look carefully at the photo below. Notice that the modern mosque sits askew of the old mosque property. The new mosque has a Qibla facing towards Mecca, but the yard around it is oriented to Petra. In the photo below you can see the foundations of the old mosque yard to the left of the new mosque. It seems the original mosque faced Petra, while the new mosque faces to Mecca. There are now new buildings on the property which obscure the earlier mosque foundations.
The old mosque was to the left of the new mosque. Only the plot of land remains. The entire plot of land faces Petra.
Some people have claimed that this was the location of the old train station, but others argue that a train station never existed in Erbil. See: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/middle-east/iraq/erbil-railway
The current mosque was badly damaged during fighting in 2014. Today a new building has been built on the location of the old mosque.
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