Jami' al-Mi'mar
Jiddah, Saudi Arabia
The al-Mimar mosque was built in the middle of the nineteenth century by Mustapha Mi'mar Pasha, then the Ottoman governor of Jeddah. Located in the neighborhood of Mahallat al-Mazlum in the old part of town, it is built in the local veracular of coral-aggregate blocks reinforced with wooden beams hidden behind a thick layer of white plaster.

The al-Mimar mosque is composed of a rectangular prayer hall with an open air platform (sahn) with shops below to the west and a minaret on its south façade. The two entrance doors to the prayer hall are situated on the south wall, and are accessed by two staircases running parallel to the façade projecting from two sides of the minaret. On the north wall, a third door surrounded by moulding gives access to the sahn. The sahn itself is covered partially with wood and corrugated tin sheets to provide shade for worshippers. From there, a series of archways located on the west façade lead to the prayer hall.

The prayer hall has almost no decorations, excepting a few stylized floral motifs. The mihrab is located on the east wall. It is flanked by two arched windows and topped by two rectangular ones covered with wooden shutters. The south façade is punctured by two sets of twin arched windows with a circular one between each two.

The minaret is one of the few remaining in Jeddah built with traditional coral-aggregate blocks. It has a rectangular base projecting from the south façade that accommodates the two doorways; upon this base sits the short, rectangular base of the minaret, which then becomes an octagon via transitional corner triangles. The octagonal shaft supports a first-floor circular balcony; above this balcony, the shaft becomes circular and holds a second smaller balcony and a conical spire.


Sources:

King, G.R.D. The historical mosques of Saudi Arabia, 34-36. London; New York: Longman, 1986.

King, Geoffrey. The Traditional Architecture of Saudi Arabia, 32-51. London: I.B. Tauris, 1998.
Location
Mahallat al-Mazlum, Jiddah, Saudi Arabia
Associated Names
Events
before 1867/1283 AH
Style Periods
1299-1922
Variant Names
al-Mimar Mosque
Variant
Masjid al-Mi'mar
Variant
Building Usages
religious