User:Rawen Ab/Great Mosque of Bled El Hadhar

The Great Mosque of Bled El Hadhar (Arabic: جامع بلاد الحضر الكبير), also known as Mosque Al-Qasr of Bled El Hadhar (Arabic: جامع القصر ببلاد الحضر), is a mosque situated in Tozeur, Tunisia and is one of the oldest mosques in North Africa.

The Great Mosque or Mosque of Al-Qasr is one of the main and most famous islamic monuments of Tunisia and altought there is no date concerning its foundation, it seems that it was immediately built after the Arabs conquest of the city of Tozeur at the end of seventh century of our era.

This monument draws its reputaton from its educational role and its architectural importance. Indeed it played during its history a large scientific role because it took a large number of local renowned scholars such as Abou Zakaria Chokratsi, Abdallah Abou Al-Fadl al-Nahwi and Ibn Chabbat.

Architecturally, this mosque is characterized by the diversity of its infulences as it belongs due to its structure and its set to mosques influenced by the Great Mosque of Kairouan , but it also includes multiple local features that appear particularly in building materials and shape of the minaret crowned by four small domes , built between 1027 and 1031 , in addition to the influences of Andalusian art of its mihrab that dates back to the year 1193-1194.

The mosque was constructed with stones and mud. Its walls were covered inside and outside, its floor was traditional brick and its ceilings were built of palm wood and contains about 43 columns built of traditional brick.

The Great Mosque of the Bled El Hadhar is the oldest historical landmark in the region of ​​El-Djerid (South Tunisia), it was built on the ruins of a Roman Church.