Located in a narrow alley near Fnideqah Square, Al-Naqah Mosque is considered the oldest surviving mosque in Tripoli, Libya. Local traditions associate the founding of the mosque with two different Muslim rulers across time.
The first is the commander ʿAmr b. al-ʿAs of the early Islamic period, who led the conquests of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, before going on to conquer Libya in 642.
The second is the fourth Fatimid caliphIn Arabic khalīfa, the head of the Muslim community. See caliphate. and 14th Ismaili Imam, Abu Tamim Maʿadd al-Muʿizz li-Din Allah (931-975). Legend has it that on his way from IfriqiyaMediaeval Muslim name for modern-day Tunisia; also the area where the Fatimids founded their state in the early tenth century. to Egypt, he was warmly welcomed by the citizens of Tripoli, and offered the city the funds to build or extend what is now its oldest mosque. Al-Mu’izz went on to found the eponymous city of Cairo (Qahirat al-Muʿizz, the Victory of al-Muʿizz) as the new capital of the Fatimid caliphate in 969.
In both founding stories, the funds for the construction of Al-Naqah Mosque were presented on a camel (naqah), which is how the mosque received its name.
Possibly one of the largest domed mosques first built in Libya, Al-Naqah is a hypostyle (i.e. ‘many-columns’) mosque. It has a sanctuary divided into square bays, each of which is surmounted by a dome. There are 42 small domes rising over 36 columns, many of which are different from each other. In fact, some of these columns are reused and recycled from earlier Roman structures.
Al-Naqah Mosque also incorporates a sahn or courtyard with a fountain in the middle.
Although the mosque was destroyed in 1510 by Spanish conquerors and abandoned for a century, it was rebuilt in 1610 and stands to this day.
References
‘Jami al-Naqa’. At Archnet; https://www.archnet.org/sites/3505, 22 May 2023.
Islamic Art and Architecture in Libya. London: Libyan General Committee for Participation in the World of Islam Festival, 1976, pp. 16-17.
Malak Altaeb. ‘Al-Naqah Mosque in Tripoli’s Old City’. At Libyan Wanderer; https://libyanwanderer.com/al-naqah-mosque-in-tripolis-old-city, 22 May 2023.
‘Al-Naga Mosque’. At Mosqpedia; https://mosqpedia.org/en/mosque/1049, 22 May 2023.
Source, CRediTs, and Acknowledgements
‘LBY0003S – Al-Naqah Mosque’. Ismaili Heritage Database. Ismaili Heritage Project, The Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2023.
Sorbon Mavlonazarov: Investigation, Writing – Original Draft, Visualisation, Data Curation; Fayaz S Alibhai: Conceptualisation, Methodology, Validation, Writing – Review & Editing, Visualisation, Supervision, Project Administration; Shiraz Allibhai: Conceptualisation; Nazir Mulji: Conceptualisation; Zayn Kassam: Conceptualisation, Validation, Writing – Review & Editing; Abdul Javery: Software, Data Curation; Shoaib Momin: Software, Data Curation; Javed Merchant: Software, Data Curation; Nuresh Momin: Software, Data Curation.
About
The Ismaili Heritage Project is a tripartite collaboration between IIS (London), the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (Geneva), and the Department of Jamati Institutions (Lisbon). The project aims to document, protect, conserve, and celebrate the built and associated tangible heritage of the global Shia Ismaili Muslims.
