Al-Bashura Mosque

The Al-Bashura Mosque is a small neighbourhood mosque leaning against the city wall right beside Bab al-Saghir, the southern gate of Damascus. It was built under Nur al-Din Zengi in AH 560, that is 1164-1165, and was once known as the Ibn Shuja Mosque. Its west front is hidden behind shops, so most people passing through the gate never notice it. Its current state has not been confirmed by a recent source.

Where the name comes from

A bashura is an entrance layout used in city walls and castles: a wall is built directly facing the gate, so anyone coming in has to turn left or right through narrow passages. The point was to slow attackers down and make it impossible to rush the gate. Nur al-Din built a bashura, a mosque and a minaret in front of Bab al-Saghir, and the mosque took its name from that layout.

Getting there

From the Umayyad Mosque, walk south-west to the Bab al-Saghir gate — about fifteen minutes. The mosque is right next to the gate, in the Shaghour Jouwani quarter. It can be seen on the same stop as the Bab al-Saghir Cemetery just outside the gate.

What to see

The entrance is on the west front, which is covered by shops. Above the door is a pointed arch in ablaq — alternating courses of dark red and cream stone — and the stone band beneath it carries verse 3 of Surat al-Baqara. The door opens onto a long passage. The courtyard is paved in black and white stone, and on its west side a portico rests on a single massive column. A plaque on the threshold carries verse 18 of Surat al-Tawba, and verse 18 of Surat al-Jinn is written above the door of the prayer hall.

The marble mihrab, the niche facing Mecca, has been renewed: a semicircular recess, a pointed arch and two engaged columns with muqarnas capitals. The wooden minbar stands in the south-east corner and was recently painted white; the preacher’s seat sits under four five-lobed arches. A wooden women’s gallery was later added along the north wall.

The minaret and the 1922 restoration

The minaret is short, with an octagonal shaft and a single octagonal wooden balcony, combining Mamluk and Ottoman styles. It stood in ruins for a long time. The religious endowments office restored the well and the minaret in AH 1341, or 1922. The door had been renewed much earlier, under the Ayyubids.

Do not miss

The restoration inscription on the inner face of the qibla door. The line saying that the minaret and the well were renewed in 1341, that is 1922, is there. With the front hidden behind shops, this inscription is the clearest record of the building’s past.