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Zofor Domri Mosque

Coordinates: 31°30′04″N 34°28′02″E / 31.5011°N 34.4673°E / 31.5011; 34.4673
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Zofor Domri Mosque
مسجد الظفر دمري
Zofor Domri Mosque is located in Gaza Strip
Zofor Domri Mosque
Shown within Gaza Strip
Zofor Domri Mosque is located in State of Palestine
Zofor Domri Mosque
Zofor Domri Mosque (State of Palestine)
Alternative name
  • Al-Ẓafar Damrī Mosque
  • Al-Zufurdimri Mosque
  • Al-Thafar Damri
  • Qazmari
[1]
LocationShuja'iyya, Old City of Gaza, Palestine
Coordinates31°30′04″N 34°28′02″E / 31.5011°N 34.4673°E / 31.5011; 34.4673
TypeMosque
AreaAbout 600 metres (1,968.50 ft)[2]
History
BuilderShihab al-Din Ahmad bin Azafir al-Thafer Damri
MaterialLimestone and sandstone
Founded1360 (762 AH)
ManagementMinistry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs

Zofor Domri Mosque was a mosque in the Shuja'iyya area of the Old City of Gaza in Palestine. It was built around 1360 during the Mamluk rule of the region and expanded in 1498. The mosque has been damaged on multiple occasions by conflicts in the region, most recently as a result of the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.

History

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The mosque was founded in 1360 (762 AH) by Shihab al-Din Ahmad bin Azafir al-Thafer Damri, a Mamluk prince, after whom it is named.[3] Al-Thafer Damri was buried at the mosque. An inscription dated to 1498 (903 AH) indicates that the mosque was expanded around this time.[4]

Following the Third Battle of Gaza in late 1917, in which the British Army captured Gaza from Turkish forces, the city was devastated and Zofor Domri Mosque was damaged. It was rebuilt in the following decades, during the period of British Mandate in Palestine.[1]

Zofor Domri Mosque was amongst the more than 170 mosques damaged during the 2014 Gaza War;[5][1] the parts built in 2010 bore the brunt of the damage and repair works were undertaken in 2015.[3] It is managed by the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs.[2] The mosque was again damaged during the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, when it was bombed on three occasions and bulldozed.[2] In February 2025, Gaza's Ministry of Endowments reported that 79% of the mosques in the Gaza Strip had been destroyed.[6]

Architecture

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The mosque measures 24.5 by 26 metres (80 by 85 ft) and was built from limestone and sandstone. Arranged around the 13.8 by 9.2 metres (45 by 30 ft) courtyard are a prayer room to the east, an iwan to the south, a minaret, and on the north side are a library and a burial room containing al-Thafer Damri's tomb.[7] The entrance on the north side dates from the mosque's establishment in 1360, and in the late 20th century was one of the best preserved entrances from the Mamluk period in Gaza. The inscription dating the mosque's construction is above the door. Above this are decorative fields of trefoil patterns and geometric shapes.[8] Several iwans were added during the mosque's reconstruction after the First World War. By the 1990s only one of the iwans, the one the south side, survived – it likely dated to the Mamluk period.[9]

The prayer room is connected to the courtyard by two doors. This access method route to the courtyard rather than using an arcade may have been developed in Syria. The style is used at other mosques in Gaza such as the 13th-century al-Agami mosque.[10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Virgili, Fabrice (2025), "Al-Ẓafar Damrī Mosque (Zofor Domri)", Gaza, inventory of a bombed heritage, retrieved 18 May 2025
  2. ^ a b c Centre for Cultural Heritage Preservation (January 2025). Damage and Risk Assessment of Cultural Heritage Under Attack in the Gaza Strip (PDF) (Report). State of Palestine Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. pp. 91–92.
  3. ^ a b Ali, Taghreed (3 February 2021), "Gaza counts Mamluk-era mosque among ancient treasures", Al-Monitor, archived from the original on 19 April 2021, retrieved 18 May 2025
  4. ^ Sadeq, Moain (1991). Die mamlukische Architektur der Stadt Gaza (in German). Klaus Schwarz Verlag. p. 152. doi:10.1515/9783112400968. ISBN 978-3-11-240096-8.
  5. ^ Fordham, Alice (12 August 2014). "Gaza's Casualties Of War Include Its Historic Mosques". NPR. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
  6. ^ "Religious Sites in Ruins: Israeli Forces Destroy 79% of Gaza Mosques, 3 Churches". Palestine Chronicle. 2025-02-02. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
  7. ^ Sadeq, Moain (1991). Die mamlukische Architektur der Stadt Gaza (in German). Klaus Schwarz Verlag. pp. 153, 156. doi:10.1515/9783112400968. ISBN 978-3-11-240096-8.
  8. ^ Sadeq, Moain (1991). Die mamlukische Architektur der Stadt Gaza (in German). Klaus Schwarz Verlag. pp. 152–154, 371. doi:10.1515/9783112400968. ISBN 978-3-11-240096-8.
  9. ^ Sadeq, Moain (1991). Die mamlukische Architektur der Stadt Gaza (in German). Klaus Schwarz Verlag. pp. 152–153. doi:10.1515/9783112400968. ISBN 978-3-11-240096-8.
  10. ^ Sadeq, Moain (1991). Die mamlukische Architektur der Stadt Gaza (in German). Klaus Schwarz Verlag. p. 357. doi:10.1515/9783112400968. ISBN 978-3-11-240096-8.
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