Queen Arwa Mosque, Mosque in Jibla, Yemen.
Queen Arwa Mosque is a place of worship in the old town of Jibla, Yemen, built around a central stone courtyard surrounded by four arched corridors. The complex includes several prayer areas and a royal mausoleum set in one corner of the grounds.
The building started as a palace in 1056 and was converted into a mosque about 30 years later, when Jibla became the political center of the region. Queen Arwa, after whom the mosque is named, ruled from here and is buried in the attached mausoleum.
The mosque is named after one of the few women in Islamic history to be recognized as a ruler and mentioned by name in Friday prayers. Visitors walking through the courtyard can see calligraphic inscriptions and geometric patterns on the walls that reflect this unusual legacy.
The site has two separate entrances that lead to different parts of the complex, so it helps to get a sense of the layout before you arrive. Visitors who are not Muslim should check in advance which areas are open to them, as access may vary.
The eastern minaret rises from a square stone base and has sixteen distinct ribs running along its shaft, a design rarely seen in medieval Yemeni architecture. This makes it one of the few surviving examples of this particular style in the whole country.
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