Fakr Ad Din Mosque, Xamar

[SultanuuFicaan]

"The place where the students studied religion, the first university of Somalia, is the Great Mosque, regarded as one of the most ancient mosques in Mogadishu. Fakhr-el-Din. This Mosque in Mogadishu was built in 1269 (drawings from 1882 and 1933). De Vecchi, the Italian Governor of Somalia, built an asphalt road right through the mosque. After this demolition, which cut the mosque into two parts, the Fakr-el-Din mosque lost its importance."



"From “Voyage Chez Les Benadirs, Les Comalis et les Bayouns, par M.G. Revoil en 1882 et 1883”
Published in Le Tour du Monde. Noveau Journal des Voyages. XLIX, 1255 Liv, page 51"

Lambourn, E.(1999) ‘The decoration of the Fakhr al-Dīn mosque in Mogadishu and other pieces of Gujarati marble carving on the East African coast‘, Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa, 34: 1, 61

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00672709909511472

"
The mosque was built in 1269 by the first Sultan of the Sultanate of Mogadishu, Fakr ad-Din. Stone, including Indian marble and coral, were the primary materials used in the construction of the masjid. The structure displays a compact rectangular plan, with a domed mihrab axis. Glazed tiles were also used in the decoration of the mihrab, one of which bears a dated inscription.

Photographs of the Fakr ad-Din mosque feature in drawings and images of central Mogadishu from the late 19th century onwards. The mosque can be identified amidst other buildings by its two cones, one round and the other hexagonal."

The Market Place in Mogadishu in 1882 with the Fakhr ad Din Mosque in the background.

 

[SultanuuFicaan]

"With no up-to-date travel guides to the place, information hard to get by, and very few people who have visited recently, preparing my visit to Mogadishu required a fresh approach. Independent travel is impossible, and I found an agency able to organize the logistics, with proposals of the places to visit. I also did some research myself, and came across a drawing of the oldest mosque of the city, Fakr ad-Din, built in 1269 by the first Sultan of the city. I could find no pictures of it, nor the location; but only a black and white drawing, and found texts about it wondering if the mosque had survived the war at all. It only made my desire to try to find it stronger. At least something must have remained of a building of such importance?

With the name and the drawing of the mosque on my phone, I soon find out that my young guide and older driver do not know about it. I still cannot imagine that it has completely disappeared from the face of the earth. Since I do not know the location, we head for the old town again, to the equally old Arba'a Rukun mosque, and when we see some older men sitting against a wall under a tree, we ask, showing the drawing on my phone. To our surprise, we have actually arrived precisely at the mosque! Walking into a twisting alley and climbing some stairs, we turn around, to find the iconic hexagonal and round cones of the mosque, that appear on my drawing as well - smaller than I had imagined, based on the drawing. An old, green door was locked, but one of the old men takes us to the roof, close to the remarkable cones.

Below us, men are washing their feet in preparation of prayer. I wonder if it is be possible to go inside as well, at which time it appeared that the responsible for the mosque is ill and in hospital. But the old men are proud of their mosque, want me to see it, and go to fetch the guy. He appears quite strong, gladly invites us in to his mosque, and we walk on the soft surface of the prayer carpets. He first shows us the mihrab, with new, white tiles, but inside, an original 13th century plaque with Arabic calligraphy and a date inscription. Outside, we find two old wooden doors, covered in all kinds of seemingly abandoned items. They turn out to be the original doors of the mosque. To me, it seems incredible that they would be treated like this. It seems entirely possible to restore them, and put them back in place. A solitary Moslim is praying in the portal of the mosque. Once outside, our host tells us the incredible story of how Fakr ad-Din mosque was ruthlessly altered by the Italians in 1930. According to him, the mosque originally extended to the sea, but the Italians wanted to construct a road, and just took away much of the prayer hall. We indeed see the ruins of what could well have been the minaret belonging to this mosque. Young guys are playing football on the road, probably unaware that their temporary football field once has been part of the oldest mosque of Mogadishu"

- old woven doors

http://www.traveladventures.org/continents/africa/fakr-ad-din-mosque.html

Inscriptions on the entrance of the mosque

 

[Arman]

Where do you find this?