Sidi Mahrez Mosque
Encyclopedia
Sidi Mahrez Mosque, also known as Mohamed Bey El Mouradi Mosque, is a mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...

 in Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....

, Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...

, located in Medina area of the city. It is an official Historical Monument. It was built by Mohamed Bey El Mouradi
Mohamed Bey El Mouradi
Mohamed Bey El Mouradi was a Mouradite leader and Bey of Tunis from 1686 until his death. He was the eldest son of Mourad Bey II....

, son of Mourad Bey II in 1692.

Structure

It is strongly influenced by Ottoman architecture, showing similarities to the Sultan Ahmed II Mosque of Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

 with a central dome with cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....

s occupying the four corners of the square of the prayer hall. Polychrome tiles were imported from Iznik
Iznik
İznik is a city in Turkey which is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea, the first and seventh Ecumenical councils in the early history of the Church, the Nicene Creed, and as the capital city of the Empire of Nicaea...

, (Turkey to cover a large part of the wall in the direction of Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...

and the grand pillars that support the central dome.

The interior of the mosque was renovated in the 1960s.
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