Great Mosque of Gaza

Great Mosque of Gaza Great Omari Mosque
The courtyard and minaret of the mosque. Photo taken by Mohammed Alafrangi, 2007
Location within Gaza
Basic information
Location	Omar Mukhtar Street, al-Daraj, Gaza Strip
Geographic coordinates	31°30′15.13″N 34°27′52.08″E / 31.5042028°N 34.4644667°E / 31.5042028; 34.4644667
Affiliation	Islam
District	Gaza Governorate
Province	Gaza Strip
Region	Levant
Country	Palestine
Status	Active
Website	http://www.baladna.ps/omari.htm
Architectural description
Architectural type	Mosque
Architectural style	Mamluk, Italian Gothic
Completed	1340, then early 16th century (the original mosque was completed in the 7th century CE)
Specifications
Minaret(s)	1
Materials	Sandstone (exterior structure), marble and plaster tiles (entrance and interior structure), olive wood

The Great Mosque of Gaza (Arabic: جامع غزة الكبير‎‎, transliteration: Jāmaʿ Ghazza al-Kabīr) also known as the Great Omari Mosque (Arabic: المسجد العمري الكبير‎‎, transliteration: Jāmaʿ al-ʿUmarī al-Kabīr) is the largest and oldest mosque in the Gaza Strip, located in Gaza's old city.

Believed to stand on the site of an ancient Philistine temple, the site was used by the Byzantines to erect a church in the 5th century, but after the Muslim conquest in the 7th century, it was transformed into a mosque. Described as "beautiful" by an Arab geographer in the 10th century, the Great Mosque's minaret was toppled in an earthquake in 1033. In 1149, the Crusaders built a cathedral dedicated to John the Baptist, but it was mostly destroyed by the Ayyubids in 1187, and then rebuilt as a mosque by the Mamluks in the early 13th century. It was destroyed by the Mongols in 1260, then soon restored only for it to be destroyed by an earthquake at the end of the century. The Great Mosque was restored again by the Ottomans roughly 300 years later. Severely damaged after British bombardment during World War I, the mosque was restored in 1925 by the Supreme Muslim Council.

The Great Mosque is situated in the Daraj Quarter of the Old City in Downtown Gaza at the eastern end of Omar Mukhtar Street, southeast of Palestine Square. Gaza's Gold Market is located adjacent to it on the south side, while to the northeast is the Katib al-Wilaya Mosque and to the east, on Wehda Street, is a girls' school.