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Sheikh Ali al-Bakka Mosque or Shaykh Ali al-Baka Mosque (Arabic: مسجد الشيخ علي بكاء) is a 13th-century mosque in the northwestern section of the Old City of Hebron in the southern West Bank, Palestine. It is situated in the Harat ash-Sheikh (or Sheik Ali al-Bakka) quarter, one of the Old City's quarters, which is named after the mosque.[1]

The mosque was founded by Husam ad-Din Turuntay in 1282 during the reign of Mamluk sultan al-Mansur Qalawun. Turuntay was the representative of the sultan in Jerusalem. The sanctuary is named after Sheikh Ali al-Bakka, a renowned Sufi religious leader from Iraq who lived in Hebron.[2] The minaret was erected by the viceroy and practical strongman of the sultanate, Sayf al-Din Salar (d. 1310).[3]

The original mosque was mostly demolished,[clarification needed] however the minaret still stands and is viewed as an exemplary work of Mamluk architecture. Sitting on a rectangular base, its shaft has a hexagonal shape. The minaret base has an arched corridor which leads to the courtyard. In 1978 a new mosque was built on the site, but preserved the remains of the original mosque.[2]

References

  1. ^ Wilson, ca. 1881, vol. 3, p. 195
  2. ^ a b Dandis, Wala. History of Hebron. 2011-11-07. Retrieved on 2012-03-02.
  3. ^ Sharon 1999, p. 60.

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