Minarets of Al-Aqsa: Difference between revisions

The [[File:Minarets of Al-Aqsa.jpg|300px|thumb|The Mosqueminarets compound]]are insituated thearound Oldthe Cityedges of Jerusalemthe hascompound. fourIn [[minaret]]sthis in total:picture, three minarets can be seen on the western flankleft and one onat the northerntop flankright.]]

==The fourBackground minarets==

After they conquered Jerusalem,{{Clarify|reason=The city was already under Muslim control before the Mamluks took over from the Ayyubids, which conquest is this referring to?|date=April 2023}} defeating the Crusaders, the [[Mamluk Sultanate|Mamluks]] built or renovated eight major minarets in the Holy City.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Smith|first=Andrew C.|date=2013|title=Mamluk Jerusalem: Architecturally Challenging Narratives|journal=LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University|volume=3|pages=1–15}}</ref> Dating of the minarets in Jerusalem has been done according to the style and shape. Mamluk minarets generally have a square shape<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Zohar|first=Mohti|s2cid=162811314|title=Why is the Minaret So Short? Evidence for Earthquake Damage on Mt Zion|date=2015|journal=Palestine Exploration Quarterly|volume=147|issue=3|pages=230–246|doi=10.1179/1743130114Y.0000000016}}</ref> and surroundare thebuilt Haramat al-Sharif.various Al-Fakhariyyalocations Minaret was built inalong the traditional [[Syria]]n style, with a square-shaped base and shaft, divided by moldings into three floors above which two linesperimeter of [[muqarnas]] decorate the ''[[muezzin]]'s'' balcony.Haram The niche is surrounded by a square chamber that ends in a leadal-covered stone domeSharif.<ref>Menashe, 2004, p.334.</ref> After the minaret was damaged in the Jerusalem earthquake, the minaret's dome was covered with lead.<ref name =Passia/>

ItThe minaret is a square-shaped minaret located near Banithe Ghanim'sGhawanima Gate and is considered the most decorated minaret of Al-Aqsa'sthe minaretscompound.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Al-Aqsa Mosque al-Haram ash-Sharif|url=https://www.tika.gov.tr/upload/2016/INGILIZCE%20SITE%20ESERLER/TANITIM%20BRO%C5%9E%C3%9CRLER%C4%B0/PDF/Haram-Ash-sharief-Final-En_2013.pdf|url-status=live|website=TİKA}}</ref> WithIt a height ofis 38.5 meters tall, itwith issix the highest minaret inside Al-Aqsastories and hasan ainternal staircase of 120 steps.<ref name=":1" /> In other words, with six stories high,making it is the tallesthighest minaret ofinside althe Al-Aqsa compound.<ref name=":1" /><ref>Brooke, Steven. ''Views of Jerusalem and the Holy Land''. Rizzoli, 2003. {{ISBN|0-8478-2511-6}}</ref> The towerIts isdesign almostmay entirelyhave madebeen ofinfluenced stone, apart from a timber canopy overby the ''muezzin's''[[Romanesque balcony.architecture|Romanesque]] Thestyle upperof partolder is[[Crusader octagonal,states|Crusader]] withbuildings ain largethe number of marble columnscity.<ref name=":03" />{{Cite Becausejournal of its firm structure, the Ghawanima Minaret has been nearly untouched by earthquakes. The minaret is divided into several stories by stone molding and [[stalactite]] galleries. The|last=Cytryn-Silverman |first=K two|date=2008 stories|title=Three areMamluk widerMinarets andin formRamla the base of the tower. The additional four stories are surmounted by a cylindrical drum and a bulbous dome. The stairway is externally located on the first two floors but becomes an internal spiral structure from the third floor until it reaches the ''muezzin's'' balcony.<ref name|url="ADL1">[httphttps://archnetwww.orgacademia.edu/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id19984772 |journal=5550Jerusalem GhawanimaStudies Minaret]in Arabic and Islam {{webarchive|urlvolume=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102224005/http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=555035 |datepages=2013-11-02 379–432}} Archnet Digital Library.</ref>

The tower's main shaft is [[cuboid]], with a square base, while its upper part, above the balcony, is octagonal. It is almost entirely made of stone, apart from a timber canopy over the [[muezzin]]'s balcony. Marble columns are employed in its decoration.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Burgoyne |first1=Michael Hamilton |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qR_qAAAAMAAJ&q=ghawanima |title=Mamluk Jerusalem: An Architectural Study |last2=Richards |first2=Donald Sidney |publisher=British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem by the World of Islam Festival Trust |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-905035-33-8 |language=en}}</ref> The minaret is excavated into the naturally occurring layer of bedrock in the northwest corner of the Haram. The main part of the tower has a cuboid shape with a square base. It is partitioned into several 'stories', visually divided on the outside by stone moldingmoldings and ''[[muqarnas]]'' (stalactite) galleries[[cornice]]s. The first two stories are wider and directly about the rock, formingform the base of the tower., Anfollowed by an additional four stories, including the muezzin's gallery, areor surmountedbalcony. byAbove the level of the balcony is a circularsmaller drumoctagonal andturret surmounted by a bulbous dome with a circular drum. The stairway is external on the first two floors but becomes an internal spiral structure until it reaches the muezzin's gallery, from which the call for prayer was performed.<ref>Burgoyne, Michael Hamilton, 1987. Mamluk Jerusalemname=":0" An/><ref Architectural Study, 178. Jerusalemname=":4" British School of Archeology in Jerusalem.</ref>

The western tunnel, which was dug by the Israeli Occupation Forcesstate, has weakened the minaret's foundations, resulting in calls for its renovation in 1422/2001.<ref>Hadi, Mahdi Abdul, 2013. “Al-Aqsa Mosque Al-Haram Ash-Sharif.” Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs, PASSIA. Supported by TİKA.</ref> Also, the Islamic Waqf Directorate has renovated this gate after an Israeli extremist burnt it in 1998.<ref name=":1" />

In 1329, [[Tankiz]], the Mamluk governor of Syria, ordered the construction of a third minaret:, theknown Chainas Gatethe Minaret (BābBab al-Silsila Minaret (Minaret of the Chain Gate), near the [[Chain Gate]], on the western border of the al-Aqsa Mosque.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Burgoyne |first1=Michael Hamilton |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qR_qAAAAMAAJ&q=%22bab+al-silsila+minaret%22+1329 |title=Mamluk Jerusalem: An Architectural Study |last2=Richards |first2=Donald Sidney |publisher=British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem by the World of Islam Festival Trust |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-905035-33-8 |pages=77, 244 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last1=Galor |first1=Katharina |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8cvYAQAAQBAJ&dq=%22bab+al-silsila+minaret%22+tankiz&pg=PA222 |title=The Archaeology of Jerusalem: From the Origins to the Ottomans |last2=Bloedhorn |first2=Hanswulf |date=2013-11-26 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-11195-8 |pages=222 |language=en}}</ref> The minaret is also known as Mahkamah Minaret since the minaret is located near the [[MadrasahTankiziyya|Madrasa al-TankiziyahTankiziyya]] which served as a law court during the times of [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=GhoshehGhushah |first=M.H. |url=https://fada.birzeit.edu/handle/20.500.11889/4857 |title=Guide to the Masjid al-Aqsa |publisher=Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs. |year=2005}}</ref>

This minaret, possibly replacing an earlier [[Umayyad]] minaret, is built in the traditional Syrian square tower type and is made entirely out of stone.<ref>[http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=5548 Bab al-Silsila Minaret] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102224052/http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=5548 |date=2013-11-02 }} Archnet Digital Library.</ref> However, it has an influence of Romanesque style.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cytryn-Silverman |first=K |date=2008 |title=Three Mamluk Minarets in Ramla |url=https://www.academia.edu/19984772/_Three_Mamluk_Minarets_in_Ramla_Jerusalem_Studies_in_Arabic_and_Islam_35_2008_pp_379_432 |journal=Jeruselam Studies in Arabic and Islam |volume=35 |pages=379–432}}</ref>

Since the 16th century, it has been a tradition that the best ''muazzin'' ("reciter")muezzin of the ''[[adhan]]'' (the call to prayer) is assigned to this minaret because the first call to each of the five daily prayers is raised from it, giving the signal for the ''muazzins''muezzins of mosques throughout Jerusalem to follow suit.<ref>Jacobs, 2009, p.106.</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=April 2023}}

It is located next to the SilsilaChain Gate on the porches to the west of Masjid al-Aqsa. It is on a square-shaped platform with four corners and has a closed balcony, which is kept standing by stone columns. It has aan ladderinternal staircase with 80 steps.<ref name=":1" /> The minaret is reached byvia the [[Madrasa al-Ashrafiyya|Madrasa al-Ashrafiyya.]]. The height of the minaret is 35 meters.<ref{{Citation nameneeded|date=":1"April />2023}} It was repaired by the Islamic Foundation after the Jerusalem earthquake in h1922.1340<ref name=":1" />{{Additional citation needed|date=April 2023|reason=There is no mention anywhere else of a m.1922 earthquake, but there was clearly a 1927 earthquake which engendered repairs to the Haram, mentioned in other sources. It's possible this source is referring to that earthquake, but other sources would be needed to confirm this.}}

Bab al-Silsila Minaret is bordered by [[Al-Aqsa Compound|Al Aqsa Compound]]'s main entrance. As stated in the inscriptions, its reconstruction was done by the Governor of Syria when Amir Tankiz was establishing the [[madrasa el-Tankiziyya|Madrasa al-Tankiziyya]]. It was replaced by an [[Ottoman architecture|Ottoman-style]] 'pencil point' spire, which was replaced by a smooth cutout and a semicircular dome after the dome was damaged in an earthquake in the 19th century. During the restoration of 1923-4, the existing canopy and lead coating on the dome were erected.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archnet.org/sites/3062|title=Mi'dhanat Bab al-Silsila|website=Archnet|access-date=2020-04-21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.passia.org/media/filer_public/67/73/67730ca8-a5ec-4c08-a9e5-a574688852b6/aqsa-tr-compressed.pdf|title=Mescidi Aksa Rehberi}}</ref>

Today, IsraelIsraeli Occupationsecurity Forcesforces do not allow Muslims to approach or enter Bab al-Silsila Minaret, as they believe they protect praying Jews in front of the [[al-BuraqWestern Wall]] which is near Bab al-Silsila Minaret.<ref name=":1" />

=== Tribes' GateFakhriyya Minaret ===

[[File:HaShvatimJerusalem-2013-Temple IMGMount-Al-Fakhariyya 1529Minaret.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|Tribes' GateFakhriyya Minaret]]

The last and most notable minaret was built in 1367: the {{transltransliteration|ar|Bāb al-ʾAsbāṭ|italic=no}} Minaret, near the [[Tribes' Gate]] ({{transltransliteration|ar|al-ʾAsbāṭ|italic=no}} Gate). It is composed of a cylindrical stone shaft (built later by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]]sOttomans), which springs up from a rectangular Mamluk-built base on top of a triangular transition zone.<ref name="Asbat" /> The shaft narrows above the ''muezzin's'' balcony and is dotted with circular windows, ending with a [[bulbous]] dome. The dome was reconstructed after the [[1927 Jericho earthquake|1927 earthquake]].<ref name="Asbat">[http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=5551 Bab al-Asbat Minaret] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629165310/http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=5551 |date=2011-06-29 }} Archnet Digital Library.</ref>

[[Category:Temple MountAl-Aqsa]]