Gallery
Description
Property Name: Great Mosque of Zabid
Inventory No: 967-3-1
Date of infill of the inventory form: 2009-08-26
Country (State party): Yemen
Province: Zabid
Town:
Geographic coordinates: 14° 11′ 45.36″ N
43° 18′ 44.89″ E
Historic Period: 9th century, 1st half, 13th century, 1st half
Year of Construction: 820, 13th century
Style: Ayyubid, Abbasid
Original Use: Mosque
Current Use: Mosque
Architect: Unknown
Significance
The great Mosque of Zabid, built by Mohammed bin Ziyad dates back to the 9th century. It is a hypostyle building of which its flat ceiling is standing on capitals and its walls are carried by arcaded walls. The mosque is octagonal in plan with a rectangular central courtyard. Its brick minaret with Kufic inscriptions is built in the 13th century during Ayyubid. The mosque served as an institution of Sunni Islamic studies.
Selection Criteria
ii. to exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning, or landscape design
iv. to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history
vi. to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance
State of Preservation
–
References
Finster, Barbara, An Outline of the History of Islamic Religious Architecture in Yemen, Yemen, 1992.
Miglioli, Franca (UNESCO) ; Hugles, Richard (ICOMOS), Mission Report, Historic Town of Zabid (Yemen), Joint Monitoring Mission 17th – 26th January 2007, march 2007