# Qamariya Mosque

Qamariya Mosque (Arabic: جامع قمرية) is one of the oldest mosques in Baghdad. It was constructed and built during the late Abbasid Period. This mosque is located on the Karkh district, on the banks of the Tigris River. A spacious chapel with a capacity of more than 400 worshipers.
The mosque is significant in that it constitutes a distinctive sign of the Abbasid era in Baghdad, as it was renovated several times by successive governments, but it has since retained its architectural value.

## History

Al-Qamariya is said to be the name of a woman from the family of the Abbasid Caliph al-Nasir, although it was also said that it is the name of the land that she owned, nevertheless, the mosque was built on the area. Some accounts also list Mansur al-Qumri as a candidate for the origin of the mosque's name. There is a difference in who built it.
Some historians say that it is one of the buildings of al-Nasir, and others attribute it to the Caliph al-Mustansir, and it may have been built during the era of al-Nasir between the years 1216 and 1225. Its construction took three eras, so it passed during the era of al-Nasir, then al-Zahir, and then Al-Mustansir I, during whose reign the mosque was built between 1226 and 1242.
Over the years, the mosque was damaged by many floods and the Siege of Baghdad by the Mongols under Hulagu. Ten years after the siege, the mosque was restored by Ata-Malik Juvayni. The Mosque later fell into disrepair and collapsed, and the bases and foundation were eroded until Said Pasha, the Mamluk governor of Baghdad, rebuilt it and directed it into the qibla.
He also wrote the history of the mosque on the chapel's mihrab using poetic verses. In the modern age, the mosque was repaired by the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs in 1980 and is still active to this day.

## Description

The Mosque is notable for its age and historical importance. Geographically, it is one of the most correct mosques in Baghdad due to its direction to the Qibla according to Mahmud al-Aluski. Its area is 2000 square meters. The mosque has a minaret of bricks and plaster and is topped by six domes of thin thickness. The top of the minaret relieved pressure on the base, and the top of the minaret was decorated with blue and white tiles with beautiful decoration and geometric shapes. The minaret is also significant for its unique characteristic and shape, the proportions of its cylindrical mass are different from what is familiar from the traditional Baghdadi minarets. The Mosque is decorated with poetic verses such as the following:
   Mosques for the remembrance of God were established and their building is still full of grace
   There is a mosque in it after its arcades rotted along the range, so I shuddered
   And it became a rocky bottom, the birds partook over it, and its pillars became stronger, and with remembrance, they calmed down
   It was built by the Minister of Justice, then he finished it by paving the pyramids for him
   A minister with the caliphate standing, you see Suleiman, the minister, the caliph
   His love is Said, may God bless his victory and make us happy with him in the best way
   He established the legends of prayer at a mosque and built the pillars of al-Hada and lit
   Until the work was completed, I said a happy historian residing in the Qamariya Mosque
Among the inscriptions on the walls of the mosque were written by a Sheikh named "Abd al-Rahman Al-Suwaidi", these are the following verses:
   And Aisha Al-Khair lived in the place of ablution, so it made many palaces
   And in it, from the flow of water, an earthquake quenched the thirsty for eternity
   By their faith, they relaxed (their Lord gave them a purifying drink)