Al-Bahr Mosque, Ottoman mosque in Jaffa, Israel.
Al-Bahr Mosque stands on HaAliya HaShniya Street beside the harbour of Jaffa, in the old port quarter of southern Tel Aviv, Israel. It is the oldest surviving mosque in the historic part of Jaffa, built of kurkar, the local sandstone formed from compressed sea sediments. A single minaret rises above the facade, and a stone inscription above the entrance names the founding family beside the Basmala.
The mosque was built in 1675 by the Azza family, making it one of the oldest surviving places of worship in the Jaffa area. It has stood through several centuries of changing rule over the city, from the Ottoman period through to the modern era.
The name Al-Bahr means "the sea" in Arabic, and the Hebrew name Misgad HaYam carries the same meaning, pointing to the Mediterranean just below the building. Because of that proximity, fishermen and sailors from the harbour used the mosque, as did residents of the surrounding streets. The stone inscription above the entrance, beside the Basmala, records the 'Azza/Alazzeh family who built it.
The mosque is in the old port area of Jaffa and can be reached on foot through the narrow lanes of the neighborhood. Because it is an active place of worship, visitors should dress modestly and plan their visit outside prayer times.
Above the entrance, an inscription carved into the kurkar stone names the founding family and includes a classical Islamic prayer. This kind of dedicatory carving is common in Ottoman religious buildings, but rarely survives this intact on such a small coastal structure.
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