Almonaster Mezquita

Almonaster la Real, Spain

The Mezquita was built from a visigothic basilica from the 5th century, reusing its materials, and is one of the few surviving Spanish rural mosques.

It is an oddly-shaped building, made of brick and stone in a trapezoid shape, probably because of the hilly terrain. The oration room has 5 naves, whose arches, like in the Mezquita in Cordoba, are perpendicular to Qibla. The central nave is wider than the 2 nearby, which are in turn wider than the 2 outer naves. The Mihrab has lost its paint, and looks quite archaic; only the brick and stone is visible. In the oration room, 16 undated tombs were found.

When Spain became Christian, many changes were made, including the addition of a central axis in accordance with the new religion. The old door and the North flank were also reconstructed. Despite these changes, the whole building still retains a rustic charm.

References:

Wikipedia

Religious sites in Spain

Address

Calle Castillo 10, Almonaster la Real, Spain

See all sites in Almonaster la Real

Details

Founded: 9th century AD
Category: Religious sites in Spain

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.8/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Cortegana Castle (5,1 km)

Aracena Castle (19,8 km)
Tentudía Monastery (44,3 km)
Jerez de los Caballeros Castle (49,9 km)
Cumbres Mayores Castle (24,9 km)
Segura de León Castle (35,9 km)
Valencia del Ventoso Castle (51,7 km)
Medina de las Torres Castle (60,5 km)
Toriñuelo Dolmen (51,7 km)

User Reviews

Tariq Khan (5 months ago)
This small 10th century mosque lies untouched on top of the hill. In that traditional style of dome, columns and the like similar to other mosque structures you see in and around Spain. It is stunning as are the views. There is an unused bullring next door also. Parking is difficult and is about a half to a kilometre away as only locals can park in and around town. It's definitely worth a visit. It's free to enter and Muslims are free to pray, as I did, if there are very little tourists there at the time. The Mehrab is intact.

Alex Eady (6 months ago)
Small but very pretty old mosque

Raul Gavris (8 months ago)
Medieval structure with lot of history. Worths visiting it.

Ronnie Allan (19 months ago)
Almonaster is a beautiful village to visit and the Mezquita is an interesting place offering good views of the village.

the Chateau (5 years ago)
Unique old mosque, on a beautiful hill.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Photo from Flickr, copyright mixteri

Historic Site of the week

Bengtskär Lighthouse

Towering 52 meters above the sea, Bengtskär lighthouse is the tallest one in Scandinavia. The building started in in 1905 after the shipwreck of S/S Helsingfors and was completed in 1906. The lighthouse was designed by architect Florentin Granholm. On December a special petrol lantern, designed and built in Paris, was brought to Bengtskär and installed atop the tower.

German fleet bombarded Bengstkär in the First World War in 1914. Since the Gulf of Finland was heavily mined, it was not until 1919 that the surrounding seas were declared safe for shipping, that the light was lit again.

After the war the military value of Bengtskär increased as part of the defence system of independent Finland. In Second World War (1941) Soviet Union made a suprise attack to island. After a bloody battle, the small Finnish garrison emerged victorious. Intermittent repairs to the facility continued during the post-war period.