The Al-Khidr Mosque and the Tomb of Mar Jirjis in Bosra

In the western part of ancient Bosra stands a small cube-shaped mosque, each side about 7 metres: the al-Khidr Mosque. The inscription over its north door says it was built in 528 AH, or 1134, by Kumushtakin, governor of Bosra. Beside it rises a square minaret 17 metres high. To the north-west is an old house known as the tomb of Mar Jirjis, or Mar Elias. No source at all could be found on the state of these buildings after 2011; the last known work on them was the consolidation of 1955. The description below follows the Ifpo guide to Bosra.

Where it is

In the west of the town, roughly halfway between the tetrapylon crossing and the al-Jahir spring. The tomb lies north-west of the mosque, on the north-south street leading to the tetrapylon.

Who built the mosque

According to the inscription, its founder was Izz al-Din Abu Mansur Kumushtakin, governor of Bosra. He was a commander of Zahir al-Din Toghtekin, the Burid atabeg who ruled Damascus, and in 506 AH, or 1112-1113, he had rebuilt the Great Mosque of Bosra, today’s Al-Omari Mosque. The inscription uses the word “renewal”, but Ifpo notes that it in fact means new construction. The mosque was built in a single phase.

What the sources describe

The prayer hall is small. It is a cube about 7 metres a side. Its roof is built in the Hauran manner, with basalt slabs carried on two arches. Ancient pieces were set into the walls with care: basalt window grilles and Nabataean and Graeco-Roman blocks reused as building material.

The square minaret is 17 metres tall, stands slightly apart from the hall and tapers as it rises. Its only decoration is a set of moulded bands, with paired windows at the top. It copies the minaret of the Al-Omari Mosque, built in 618 AH, or 1221-1222, so it too is dated to the 13th century. The antiquities service consolidated the building in 1955.

The tomb of Mar Jirjis

The building north-west of the mosque is an ancient house, most likely from the Byzantine period. Inside a long hall covered by four transverse arches is the grave of a saint. On the street front, a round window in a moulded frame sits above the door. Columns built into the east wall may come from the portico of a Roman courtyard house. The building goes by both Mar Jirjis, Saint George, and Mar Elias, and local tradition links al-Khidr, the green saint of Islamic lore, with it. A mosque and a tomb tied to a Christian saint meeting on one corner under one name set this small group apart in Bosra.

What not to miss

Start with the walls, not the minaret. Nabataean and Roman blocks sit inside a 12th-century wall together with basalt window grilles. The layers of Bosra stand side by side in one small room.

Current state

The town of Bosra is visited; according to SANA on 14 September 2026, the number of tourist groups coming to the town is rising. For the al-Khidr Mosque and the tomb of Mar Jirjis, however, no source from after 2011 could be found. Whether the buildings are standing and open to visitors today could not be confirmed. Ask locally before you go.