Al-‘Alamī Mosque – Old Ṣan‘ā’
مسجد العلمي- صنعاء القديم ة

Monument description

It is not known precisely who is the founder of the Al-Alami Mosque. The historian Al-Hajri cites the name of Alam Al-Din Al-Shaabi, justified by the fact that he was among those who took over Sana‘a in the 7th century AH. While the researcher suggested that Ilm Al-Din Ward Sar was a representative of Sana‘a at the end of the 6th century AH, he pointed out that Ilm Al-Din Ward Sar had other works that he carried out at the beginning of the 7th century AH, including the renewal of the Mosque in the year 602 AH, build the Sana’a cemetery, and dug the well (lined with stones), as an endowment for the cemetery of Sana‘a.
Other historians mentioned that the Al-Alami Mosque was rebuilt in the 11th century AH, where Al-Hajri reported that one of the people who rebuilt it was from Beit Al-Shami, but Dr Ghaylan said that it was Al-Hussein bin Yahya Al-Akhfash, nicknamed Al-Shami, who rebuilt it. Al-Hajri indicated that he found a paper in the handwriting of the scholar Hashem bin Yahya Al-Shami.
It tells that Sharaf Al-Islam Al-Husayn ibn Yahya Al-Akhfash endowed some places and lands in the year 1137 AH for the benefit of his mosque, which he built in Al-Alami neighborhood.
Since its establishment, the Al-Alami Mosque has undergone several additions and important constructions, and it has recently been exposed to a new enlargement that distorted its appearance and threatened it with destruction (and still is).

Architectural and cultural value

Construction style and built date: The layout of the Mosque consists of a Prayer Hall, with a flat roof supported by wooden beams resting directly on the capitals of stone columns and arches. The Mosque was built in the year 1014 AH, as it is written in the inscription on the western facade of the of Prayer Hall.

Components of the Mosque: Prayer Hall, Minaret, courtyard (Al-Suwh), Berkah, Al-Beer, Al-Saqifah and traditional baths.