History

The mosque was established in 1296 by the emir Abi Ibrahim ibn Yahya during the Zayyanid era, as noted on the two gypsum groves on top of the mihrab and the plank of the western wall of the prayer hall. The mosque's current name is thought to have been inspired by the name of the ulama and qadi who lived nearby and served the Sultan Abi Sayeed Uthman, Abi al-Hassan (1283-1303).

Urban and Architectural

Compared to other mosques from the same period, this mosque is fairly understated in design. The floor and qibla wall of the mosque are covered in identical tiles, and there is no sahn. It was the first of its kind in Algeria and precedes by three or four centuries the style used in the Andalusian Moorish architecture. The ceiling was composed of interlocking cedar tree planks.

Description

References

Lafer, Ali. "Djama'a Sidi Bel-Hasan (mosque)". Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers. Retrieved 2021-03-30.

Bloom, Jonathan M. (2020). Architecture of the Islamic West: North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, 700-1800. Yale University Press. pp. 183–184. ISBN 9780300218701.

Marçais, Georges (1954). L'architecture musulmane d'Occident. Paris: Arts et métiers graphiques. p. 272.

 "Qantara - Mosque of Sidi Bel Hasan (Sayyidī Abū al-Hasan)". www.qantara-med.org. Retrieved 2021-03-30.

 "Jami' Sidi Abi Hasan". Archnet. Retrieved 2021-03-30.