The al-Nuri Mosque, Hama

A short lane runs from the norias to the mosque, which makes these the two easiest stops in Hama to combine. The mosque faces the east bank of the Orontes, in the Bab al-Naoura quarter. Nur al-Din Mahmud Zangi had it built in the year 558 of the Hijri calendar, that is 1162, and it carries his name.

Getting there

Walk along the river from the Naoura bridge; it is a few minutes from the water wheels to the mosque door. No transport needed.

What to see

A square-shafted minaret stands at the north-west corner, its shaft patterned in courses of black and white stone, and that is what you recognise it by from a distance. Above the north gate is the foundation inscription, dated 558, cut in large, well-formed letters. The wooden minbar in the prayer hall carries plant, geometric and calligraphic ornament. In the middle of the courtyard is a square pool fed from the Jabari noria, so the wheel that lifts its water out of the river is two streets away and you can go and look at it.

Whose ground it was

The mosque was built on the site of an older monastery known as Dayr Quzma. Most of Hama’s places of worship have the same story: stone is reused, the ground changes hands, the building goes up again.

Its condition today

In the events of February 1982 most of the buildings in Hama’s historic centre were heavily damaged. The al-Nuri mosque came off better than its neighbours and a good deal of its original fabric stayed in place. It was not rebuilt from scratch the way the Great Mosque was; visiting the two in succession makes that difference visible.