Nabi Yahya Mosque
| Nabi Yahya Mosque | |
|---|---|
The mosque circa 1920
|
|
| Basic information | |
| Location |
 Sebastia
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| Geographic coordinates | 32°16′36″N 35°11′46″E / 32.276715°N 35.196°ECoordinates: 32°16′36″N 35°11′46″E / 32.276715°N 35.196°E |
| Affiliation | Islam |
| District | Nablus Governorate |
| Province | West Bank |
| Status | Active |
| Architectural description | |
| Architectural style | Ayyubid/Mamluk |
| Completed | 1261 |
| Specifications | |
| Dome(s) | 1 |
| Minaret(s) | 1 |
| Minaret height | 30 meters (98 ft) |
The Nabi Yahya Mosque (Arabic: جامع النبي يحيى, Jama'a Nabi Yahya, meaning "mosque of the Prophet John") is the main mosque in the village of Sebastia, near Nablus. It is located in the central square of the village. It is constructed of large buttressed walls. Within its courtyard, a stairway in the small domed building leads down into a cave. There are six burial niches here, among them are tombs traditionally identified as the burial places of Elisha, Obadiah, and John the Baptist.
The Nabi Yahya Mosque stands on the site identified since Byzantine times as the place where John the Baptist's body was buried by his followers. Matthew 14:12 records that "his disciples came and took away [John's] body and buried it".
A church was erected on the spot of the tomb during the Byzantine era and then superseded by a Crusader-built church in 1160. Local tradition in both the Christian and Muslim communities of the area notes that Sebastia also contained the site of the prison of John the Baptist and is the place where he was beheaded; however this was a separate church in the old city and is a claim refuted by the account of the first century historian Josephus, which recorded the site of the beheading as Machaerus, across the Jordan, some 80-90 miles away.
It was transformed into a mosque by Saladin in 1187, although some sources say it was converted by the Mamluks in 1261. Nabi Yahya refers to John the Baptist in the Arabic language. The mosque was restored and mostly rebuilt during the 19th century while Palestine was under Ottoman rule.
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Wikipedia