Almonaster la Real
Encyclopedia
Almonaster la Real is a town and municipality
located in the province of Huelva
, Spain
. According to the 2005 census
, the city had a population of 1,805 inhabitants.
ic basilica
from the 5th century, reusing its materials, and is one of the few surviving Spanish rural mosques.
It is an oddly-shaped building, made of brick and stone in a trapezoid
shape, probably because of the hilly terrain.
The oration room has 5 nave
s, whose arches, like in the Mezquita in Cordoba
, are perpendicular to Qibla
.
The central nave
is wider than the 2 nearby, which are in turn wider than the 2 outer nave
s. The sections of the South flank are wider than the others, suggesting a T shape.
The Mihrab
has lost its paint, and looks quite archaic; only the brick and stone is visible.
To the North is the Alminar Square. The mosque probably only had one entrance, in the northernmost section of the second nave
from the East.
What little light it would have had would have come in via the patio, the door and 3 narrow or small windows, 2 to the left of the Mihrab
and 2 to its right.
In the oration room, 16 undated tombs were found.
When Spain became Christian, many changes were made, including the addition of a central axis in accordance with the new religion. The old door and the North flank were also reconstructed. Despite these changes, the whole building still retains a rustic charm.
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
located in the province of Huelva
Huelva (province)
Huelva is a province of southern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by Portugal, the provinces of Badajoz, Seville, and Cádiz, and the Atlantic Ocean. Its capital is Huelva....
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. According to the 2005 census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, the city had a population of 1,805 inhabitants.
Demographics
Mezquita, 10th Century
The Mezquita was built from a visigothVisigoth
The Visigoths were one of two main branches of the Goths, the Ostrogoths being the other. These tribes were among the Germans who spread through the late Roman Empire during the Migration Period...
ic basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
from the 5th century, reusing its materials, and is one of the few surviving Spanish rural mosques.
It is an oddly-shaped building, made of brick and stone in a trapezoid
Trapezoid
In Euclidean geometry, a convex quadrilateral with one pair of parallel sides is referred to as a trapezoid in American English and as a trapezium in English outside North America. A trapezoid with vertices ABCD is denoted...
shape, probably because of the hilly terrain.
The oration room has 5 nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
s, whose arches, like in the Mezquita in Cordoba
Mezquita
The Cathedral and former Great Mosque of Córdoba, in ecclesiastical terms the Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción , and known by the inhabitants of Córdoba as the Mezquita-Catedral , is today a World Heritage Site and the cathedral of the Diocese of Córdoba...
, are perpendicular to Qibla
Qibla
The Qiblah , also transliterated as Qibla, Kiblah or Kibla, is the direction that should be faced when a Muslim prays during salah...
.
The central nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
is wider than the 2 nearby, which are in turn wider than the 2 outer nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
s. The sections of the South flank are wider than the others, suggesting a T shape.
The Mihrab
Mihrab
A mihrab is semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla; that is, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca and hence the direction that Muslims should face when praying...
has lost its paint, and looks quite archaic; only the brick and stone is visible.
To the North is the Alminar Square. The mosque probably only had one entrance, in the northernmost section of the second nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
from the East.
What little light it would have had would have come in via the patio, the door and 3 narrow or small windows, 2 to the left of the Mihrab
Mihrab
A mihrab is semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla; that is, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca and hence the direction that Muslims should face when praying...
and 2 to its right.
In the oration room, 16 undated tombs were found.
When Spain became Christian, many changes were made, including the addition of a central axis in accordance with the new religion. The old door and the North flank were also reconstructed. Despite these changes, the whole building still retains a rustic charm.
External links
- Almonaster la Real - Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía