Status Active Opened 1282 Number of minarets 1 | Completed 1282 Region Levant Architectural type Mosque | |
Location Harat ash-Sheikh, Old City, Hebron Similar Hanbali Mosque, Katib al‑Wilaya Mosque, Nabi Yahya Mosque, Jamal Abdel Nasser M, Great Mosque of Nablus |
Sheikh Ali al-Bakka Mosque (also spelled Shaykh Ali al-Baka Mosque) is a 13th-century mosque in the northwestern section of the Old City of Hebron in the southern West Bank. It is situated in the Harat ash-Sheikh (or Sheik Ali al-Bakka) quarter, one of the Old City's four quarters, which is named after the mosque.
The mosque was founded by the Husam ad-Din Turuntay in 1282 during the reign of Mamluk sultan al-Mansur Qalawun. Turuntay was the representative of the sultan in Jerusalem. The sanctuary is named after Sheikh Ali al-Bakka, a renowned Sufi religious leader from Iraq who lived in Hebron.
The original mosque was mostly demolished, however the minaret still stands and is viewed as an exemplary work of Mamluk architecture. Sitting on a rectangular base, its shaft has a hexagonal shape. The minaret base has an arched corridor which leads to the courtyard. In 1978 a new mosque was built on the site, but preserved the remains of the original mosque.