Bâb al-Mardûm mosque

This building was constructed after Toledo was taken by ‘Abd al-Rahmân III in 932, to serve as a neighbourhood mosque. It was converted into a Christian sanctuary when Alphonse VI conquered the city. In 1187 the former mosque became a church of the Knights Hospitaller and was named “San Cristo de la Luz”. It was almost certainly at this moment that a Mudéjar style apse, decorated in brick and with several archways, was added.

This small, square, Andalusian mosque is today protected by the church and is in a relatively good state of repair. It gives onto a street, which starts in the town centre and leads down to the al-Mardûm gate (major-domo gate) – still in existence today – that was the entrance to Muslim Toledo. The façade in brick and stonework, has three arches; one poly-foiled cusped arch, one slightly raised semi-circular arch and one horseshoe arch. The upper section of the façade consists of three decorative layers. The first, which is in relief and made of brick, shows a series of interwoven arches. Above this there is a frieze of stone trelliswork and this is crowned by an inscription carved into the brickwork in Kufic script, which marks the mosque’s foundation. The tiled roof is maintained by a succession of brick corbels, as is the central cupola and lantern.

The interior is divided into nine vaults with horseshoe arches by four Visigothic columns. Cupolas of different styles cap the vaults and a lantern allowing light to enter, crowns the highest vault.

Depending on their height, the walls house different architectural elements; openings with horseshoe or poly-foiled cusped arches. Today the walls are covered by plaster but during the Muslim era they were decorated with paint.

The architecture of this mosque appears to be imported, yet the building technique using a mix of brick and stonework is of local tradition and has its roots in Roman times. This tiny edifice, which has no interior courtyard, is similar to two buildings to be found in Tunisia: The Bou Fatata mosque in Sousse, built between 838 and 841 and the ‘Three Door’ mosque in Kairouan, which does not have the same elevation.

Its architecture is of the same style, widespread throughout the 10^th century, with a central Byzantine cupola, as the Saint Serge and Bacchus in Istanbul (6^th century).

Other oratories, with a similar square layout, can be found in Egypt and Ifrîqiya. The most remarkable similarity is with the Tabata funeral mosque in Egypt constructed in 943. Two other edifices in Egypt bear a striking resemblance: the al-Qibli funeral mosque in Shellal and the Sab’a wa Sap’in Wali mausoleum in Aswan (destroyed in 1901).  The Bâb al-Mardûm mosque could be considered as the final Andalusian version of this type of structure, which can be found as far away as in Afghanistan, where the Balkh mosque (Masjid-i No Gumbad) from the 9^th century, was built with the same layout.