An-Nasr Mosque

Site description: One of the most important mosques in the city of Nablus; due to its architectural style, location in the heart of the old town, and the protrusion of its high dome among the city's buildings.Today, the area of the current mosque is 1,500 square meters, consisting of two floors. The upper floor is topped by a central dome surrounded by several half-domes according to the Ottoman style of building mosques. The ground floor consists of a number of graves belonging to the city's leaders, including Muhammad bin Farrukh Pasha, who died in 1849 AD, one of the rulers of the city of Nablus during the Ottoman era. The cemetery also includes the tomb of Saleh Pasha Touqan, and Sheikh Taha al-Sununu, while many shops are distributed around the ground floor.The upper floor is dedicated to prayer and is reached through a wide stone staircase from the eastern façade overlooking Al-Manara Square. The dome was erected on cement pillars bearing brackets on which the base of the dome rests. It is noted that the mosque's design was intended to highlight its hight by adding the ground floor, the height of the arches, and the central dome. The mosque was built by The Supreme Muslim Council in Jerusalem in 1935 AD, and this is dated by an inscription above the mosque's entrance.Historical and archaeological sources also confirm that this mosque was built on the ruins of an older mosque of the same name, which was demolished as a result of the earthquake that struck the city in 1927 AD, in turn, was built on the ruins of a church in 1187 AD during the reign of Saladin. Some of the walls of the Crusader church are still standing in front of the ground floor of the current mosque from the western side. Attached to the mosque is a water fountain at the southeast corner at the edge of an-Nasr Square, and it is called Sabil Al-Sit (standpipe).