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 (7 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 (8 months ago)
Small but very pretty old mosque

Raul Gavris (10 months ago)
Medieval structure with lot of history. Worths visiting it.

Ronnie Allan (2 years ago)
Almonaster is a beautiful village to visit and the Mezquita is an interesting place offering good views of the village.

the Chateau (6 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 Zvonimir Hrvoj

Historic Site of the week

Church of St Donatus

The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.

The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.

The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.