Wikipedia

Mansourah Mosque

Mansourah Mosque
مسجد المنصورة
Remnants of the minaret, in 2024
Religion
AffiliationIslam (former)
Ecclesiastical or organisational statusMosque (former)
StatusAbandoned
(in partial ruins)
Location
LocationMansoura, Tlemcen National Park, Tlemcen
CountryAlgeria
Mansourah Mosque is located in Northern Algeria
Mansourah Mosque
Location of the former mosque in northern Algeria
Map
Geographic coordinates34°52′15″N 1°20′19″W / 34.8708°N 1.3387°W / 34.8708; -1.3387
Architecture
TypeIslamic architecture
Founder
Completed
  • 701 AH (1301/1302 CE)
  • 735 AH (1334/1335CE)
Specifications
Minaret(s)1
Minaret height38 m (125 ft)

The Mansourah Mosque (Arabic: مسجد المنصورة; French: Mosquée de Mansourah) is a former mosque, in a ruinous state, located in the city of Mansourah, in the province of Tlemcen, in northwestern Algeria. The remaining structure is a national monument of Algeria and is situated within the Tlemcen National Park.

History

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The mosque was completed in 701 AH (1301/1302 CE), during the Marinid era; and comprises part of the Mansourah Castle. Excavations revealed that the mosque built by the Sultan Abu Yaqub, and that the decoration of the main gate was completed under the patronage of Abu al-Hassan in 735 AH (1334/1335CE).[1]

Inside the complex there are 13 doors which surrounded by the wall, and a sahn with a fountain in the middle. The sahn is surrounded by three corridors, of which employ similar tilework with the prayer hall. The prayer hall is connected directly to the sahn and contains tilework similar to the qibla wall, and is similar to the design on the 13th-century Baybars Mosque in Samarra.[2][3] The main entrance to the mosque leads to the iconic square-shaped 38-metre-tall (125 ft) minaret, that was inspired by the minarets built by the previous dynasties in North Africa and Iberia.[3] Only three sides of the minaret remain.[1]

Short sections of the former mosque's walls, and onyx columns are preserved in the National Museum of Art and History in Tlemcen and in the National Museum of Antiquities and Islamic Art in Algiers.[1]

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  • Close-up of the minaret
    Close-up of the minaret
  • Mosque wall
    Mosque wall
  • Outer castle wall
    Outer castle wall
  • Interior of the former mosque

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Mosquée de Mansourah". ArchNet. n.d. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  2. ^ الشاهد الذي تحدى الزمن. الشرق اليومي [magazine.echoroukonline.com] (in Arabic). Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  3. ^ a b مسجد المنصورة. Saaih (in Arabic). Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018.

Further reading

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  • Marçais, William; Marçais, Georges (1903). "El-Mansourah". Les Monuments Arabes De Tlemcen (in French). Paris: Albert Fontenmoing. pp. 192–222.
  • Ministère de l’information et de la culture; Bourouiba, M. (collab.); Dokali, M. (collab.) (1974). Les Mosquées En Algérie (in French) (2nd ed.). Alger, Algeria: Ministère de l’information et de la culture, SNED. pp. 26–33.
  • Parker, Richard B. (1981). A Practical Guide to Islamic Monuments in Morocco. Charlottesville, VA: Baraka Press. pp. 159–161.
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Media related to Mansourah Mosque at Wikimedia Commons