Sidna Omar mosque, Mamluk mosque in Jewish Quarter, Jerusalem.
Sidna Omar Mosque is a house of worship in Jerusalem's Old City featuring a two-story minaret with a balcony for the muezzin call. The structure displays Mamluk-period architectural elements, with stonework and carved details reflecting medieval construction methods.
The mosque was renovated in 1397 with funds collected and land donated for its upkeep, as recorded by the historian Mujir al-Din. Obadiah Bartenura wrote that it was built by a Jew who converted to Islam. During the Six-Day War its minaret was hit by snipers and was repaired in 1974; further renovations in 2019 were paid for by the government of Jordan.
Muslims call the mosque Masjid al-Yahud, "the Mosque of the Jews", and it is one of only two mosques in the Jewish Quarter. It stands next to the Ramban Synagogue, and a dispute after the synagogue's partial collapse in 1474 ended with the synagogue rebuilt under Sultan Qaitbay.
The mosque has been closed since 1967 and did not reopen after its 2019 renovation, so the interior cannot be visited. It stands in the Jewish Quarter next to the Hurva and Ramban Synagogues, and the two-story Mamluk minaret can be seen from the surrounding lanes.
Historical records by scholar Obadiah Bartenura indicate the building originated from a Jewish individual who converted to Islam and initiated its construction. This unusual connection between Jewish and Islamic origins stands as a rare example of the Old City's complicated past.
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