Back to Search

Sidi Bel Hassan Mosque
(جامع سيدي بلحسن)

Title	Sidi Bel Hassan Mosque
Title Original	جامع سيدي بلحسن
Publication Date:	696 AH / 1296 AD
Type	Other
Language	Undetermined
Digital	Yes
Manuscript	No
Library:	Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID	monument;ISL;dz;Mon01;5;ar
Library Location	Tlemcen, Algeria
Date	696 AH / 1296 AD
Notes	This mosque was built in 696 AH / 1296 AD on the western side of Khemisti Square. The Sidi Bel Hassan Mosque bears the name of Abu Al-Hassan bin Ikhlef Al-Tensi, who is a scholar and jurist of this mosque. This mosque had several functions. It was used during colonialism as a fodder warehouse, then it was turned into a school, and finally, it became a museum. It is possible that some of the works mentioned by J. Marcy goes back to this last period, including opening the two windows and covering the frieze with modern tiles. In recent years, the museum's contents were transferred to an old school located in the August 20 neighborhood in Talisman, and the mosque building was restored. The prayer hall occupies an area of approximately one hundred square metres, and contains six columns of onyx, two series of border arches that form three naves perpendicular to the qibla wall, and five bays. Each slab is covered by a gabled roof of tiles, placed on a wooden ceiling made of cedar planks. The walls and arches were decorated with plaster decorations, highlighted by multi-colored paint, traces of which are still visible on the northern and eastern walls, as well as some simple parts remaining at the level of the arches. The base of the mihrab is hexagonal, and is defined by a semicircular arch, supported by two columns and two onyx capitals. The frame that defines the mihrab rests on two horizontal inscription bands. “At the top, the arch extends with arches tilted from the center and with radiating castanets that define three tangent edges separated by corners with floral lattices.” The mihrab is surmounted by a dome decorated with muqarnas. As for the minaret, it is small in height, as its height does not exceed 14 metres. It is decorated on its four facades with rectangular panels that include geometric grids of bricks decorated with a tile mosaic. It is topped with a Qandiliyya (Al-Azri) dome decorated with tile.
Sample Text	Ali Lafer “Sidi Bel Hassan Mosque” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;dz;Mon01;5;ar

View in source Museum With No Frontiers Museum With No Frontiers - Ottoman library catalog search

Museum With No Frontiers

Sidi Bel Hassan Mosque

(جامع سيدي بلحسن)

Publication Date 696 AH / 1296 AD

Type Other

Language Undetermined

Digital Yes

Manuscript No

Library Museum With No Frontiers

Record ID monument;ISL;dz;Mon01;5;ar

Library Location Tlemcen, Algeria

Date 696 AH / 1296 AD

Notes This mosque was built in 696 AH / 1296 AD on the western side of Khemisti Square. The Sidi Bel Hassan Mosque bears the name of Abu Al-Hassan bin Ikhlef Al-Tensi, who is a scholar and jurist of this mosque. This mosque had several functions. It was used during colonialism as a fodder warehouse, then it was turned into a school, and finally, it became a museum. It is possible that some of the works mentioned by J. Marcy goes back to this last period, including opening the two windows and covering the frieze with modern tiles. In recent years, the museum's contents were transferred to an old school located in the August 20 neighborhood in Talisman, and the mosque building was restored. The prayer hall occupies an area of approximately one hundred square metres, and contains six columns of onyx, two series of border arches that form three naves perpendicular to the qibla wall, and five bays. Each slab is covered by a gabled roof of tiles, placed on a wooden ceiling made of cedar planks. The walls and arches were decorated with plaster decorations, highlighted by multi-colored paint, traces of which are still visible on the northern and eastern walls, as well as some simple parts remaining at the level of the arches. The base of the mihrab is hexagonal, and is defined by a semicircular arch, supported by two columns and two onyx capitals. The frame that defines the mihrab rests on two horizontal inscription bands. “At the top, the arch extends with arches tilted from the center and with radiating castanets that define three tangent edges separated by corners with floral lattices.” The mihrab is surmounted by a dome decorated with muqarnas. As for the minaret, it is small in height, as its height does not exceed 14 metres. It is decorated on its four facades with rectangular panels that include geometric grids of bricks decorated with a tile mosaic. It is topped with a Qandiliyya (Al-Azri) dome decorated with tile.

Sample Text Ali Lafer “Sidi Bel Hassan Mosque” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;dz;Mon01;5;ar