Maqam an-Nabi Yusha' explained

Building Name:Maqam an-Nabi Yusha'
Religious Affiliation:Shi'ite
Map Type:Israel
Coordinates:33.1127°N 35.5566°W
Location:Safad, Mandatory Palestine
Architecture Type:Mosque and shrine with mausoleum chamber
Architecture Style:Islamic architecture
Year Completed:18th century
Dome Quantity:2

Maqam an-Nabi Yusha' (Arabic: مقام النبي يوشع) is a religious complex consisting of a mosque and the shrine containing a mausoleum believed to entomb the remains of the biblical Joshua. It is located in the abandoned village of Al-Nabi Yusha' in Safed, Mandatory Palestine. The structure, one of the historic maqams in the Middle East, is now in a ruined state.[1]

History

The religious complex was founded in the 18th century by the aristocratic Alghul family.[2] [3] During the Mandate period, the residents of Al-Nabi Yusha' (who were mostly Shi'ites) celebrated an annual mawsim festival at the site dedicated to the entombed prophet. In 2018, the site was vandalized by unknown perpetrators, who sprayed Talmudic graffiti on its walls.[4]

Architecture

The Maqam an-Nabi Yusha' is a rectangular structure formed around a courtyard aligned north–south with an arched entrance on the north end while the two domed chambers, including the shrine-mausoleum, were located on the south end of the complex.[5] [6] [7] The shrine is surrounded by fig trees and species of cactus growing around it.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Palestine Remembered: Al-Nabi Yusha' village in Safad .
  2. Book: Khalidi, Walid . All that remains: the Palestinian villages occupied and depopulated by Israel in 1948 . 1992 . Institute for Palestine studies . 978-0-88728-224-9 . Washington (D.C.).
  3. Web site: Zochrot . Zochrot - al-Nabi Yusha . 2024-04-22 . Zochrot - al-Nabi Yusha' . en.
  4. Web site: 2018-02-09 . تدنيس مقام النبي يوشع بصفد بعبارات تلمودية . 2024-04-22 . فلسطين أون لاين . ar.
  5. Book: Petersen, Andrew . A gazetteer of buildings in Muslim Palestine. 1 . 2001 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-727011-0 . British Academy monographs in archaeology . Oxford.
  6. Guérin, V. (1880). Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine (in French). Vol. 3: Galilee, pt. 2. Paris: L'Imprimerie Nationale.
  7. Web site: backpackisrael . 2020-11-18 . Hiking the Israel National Trail: From Nabi Yusha to Gesher Alma . 2024-04-22 . Backpack Israel . en-US.