The Mawlawiyya Mosque – or Khanqah – is an important corner in the city of Jerusalem, dating back to the Ottoman era in Palestine. It is located within the walls of the Old City. It is attributed to one of the Sufi orders, which is the Mawlawiyya order.
the site
The architectural complex of the Mawlawiyya Khanqah (a Persian word meaning the place where Sufis seclude themselves to worship) is located in the north of the Old City of Jerusalem, slightly north of the middle of the road known as the Mawlawiyya Road, which connects the Red Minaret Road from the east and the main road of Haret al-Saadiyah from the west.
It is located specifically at the end of a road known in the Mamluk era as Ibn Jarrah Road and in Saadian Alley.
In the Ottoman era, the Khanqah was known as Hawsh Al-Saadiyyin or Hawsh Al-Saadi, then Alley of Mawlawiyya or Stairway of Mawlawiyya. It can be reached via Damascus Gate and Al-Sahira Gate, approximately 150 meters southwest of Damascus Gate. It was built in the year 995 AH/1586 AD.
founder
The Mawlawi Khanqah complex is attributed to the Sufi order known as the Mawlawiyya order, which entered Jerusalem in the Mamluk era, and its spread expanded under the rule of the Ottomans, who sponsored this order since the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Selim I.
Selim I appointed Akhfashzadeh as head of the Mevlevi Dervishes and granted him 500 aqjahs, along with every sheikh and dervish among his followers in Jerusalem, following his conquest of Jerusalem in the year (921 AH/1516 AD).
The origin of the building dates back to a period prior to the Ottoman era, as its first floor dates from the Fatimid era, and the second from the days of the Frankish occupation, who built it and turned it into a church called the “Agnos” Church.
Al-Waqif transformed this church into a mosque that was considered one of the first Ottoman mosques in Jerusalem. The founding of the Khanqah is attributed to “Hajj Khudavardi Bey, known as Abu Seifin bin Sheikh Hussein Al-Khalouti”, the Emir of the Jerusalem District, who established the hearing hall and the minaret in the year (995 AH / 1586 AD).
He established a waqf for the khanqah to ensure its continuity, and in it he specified the functions and tasks of its owners. He ordered the date of construction to be engraved at the entrance to the khanqah, which read: “This noble shrine, called the Mawlawi Khanqah, was built by the great prince Abu Saifin Ghazi in the year 995 AH.”
The records of the Islamic Court of Jerusalem are full of many arguments and documents dealing with the affairs of the Khanqah and its endowments, whether in administrative, financial, social, architectural, or endowment and charity allocations.
The Mawlawi method of suffocation
The Mevlevi Sufi order expanded in the Ottoman era and took its headquarters in Jerusalem. It is attributed to the famous Sufi Jalal al-Din al-Rumi, who is buried in the city of Konya in Türkiye.
This path was famous for its long headdress, and for the rhythmic music and dance accompanying its Sufi sessions. This order remained active in Jerusalem until the beginning of the 14th century AH/20th century AD, but it weakened and disappeared in the second half of that century, and many of its centers were transformed into residential homes, but daily prayers are still performed in the mosque, and the call to prayer sounds from the top of its minaret.
Restoration of the Khanqah
Mohib al-Din Effendi, head of the Noble Syndicate in Al-Quds Al-Sharif, carried out a comprehensive restoration of the Mawlawiyya Khanqah in the year (1137 AH / 1724 AD).
Documents from the Islamic Heritage Revival and Research Foundation indicate that the khanqah and the minaret were completely destroyed in 1927 AD, due to the violent earthquake that struck the city of Jerusalem. The Waqf Administration, under the supervision of the Supreme Islamic Council, rebuilt them in the same year, but the minaret was shorter than it was due to an engineering error. Reconstruction operations continued until 1947 AD.
the description
The khanqah consists of a criss-crossed structure topped with a shallow dome. The area of the room is 31.4 square metres. It has two doors, one east and the other west, leading to a suspended balcony, in addition to a northern window, a southern window, and a third eastern window parallel to the minaret. Its ceiling is 4.37 metres.
The khanqah included a library that included the most important books of the Mawlawi order, especially the book “Masnavi” by its author Jalal al-Din al-Rumi (672-604 AH/1207-1273 AD), and it amounted to 70 books in the Turkish language.
It was visited by a number of Arab and foreign travelers, the most important of whom was the traveler Sheikh Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi, who gave a detailed description of it before it was restored by Muhib al-Din Effendi.
As for the mosque, it is located in the northern side of the corner, specifically to the left of the thresholds leading to it. Its area is about 80 square metres, and it is irregular in shape due to an overlap in the wall of the northern mosque with the wall of one of the neighboring floors.
The corner includes a small room with semi-circular arches, located under the arch supporting the vault arch from the entrance and the stairs leading to the upper floor, which is descended on 3 steps leading to 3 shrines wrapped in green cloth for 3 sheikhs of the Mawlawi order.
The Khanqah minaret represents a living example of the architecture of early Ottoman minarets. It is short and consists of 4 sections: a square base made of 12 stone courses, surmounted by 9 stone courses that form another square separated from the base square by a stone frieze.
The minaret has a number of openings for ventilation and lighting. This minaret rests on the southern wall of the mosque, with its northern side disappearing into the facade of the qibla wall of the mosque.
Today, the function of the khanqah is limited to the mosque in which the five daily prayers are held, until it became called the Mawlawiyya Mosque. As for the other rooms, they are used for housing by some families.
