The graceful silhouette of the green-domed Al Jazzar Mosque, with its slender, 124-stair minaret, dominates the northern end of Akko's old city. Al Jazzar himself designed the mosque in classic Ottoman Turkish style, and oversaw its construction in 1781. Inside are beautifully restored marble minbar (pulpit) and ornate mihrab (Mecca-facing niche), with delicate calligraphy soaring on the blue and green tiles above. Dress modestly (cover from shoulders to knees); women must cover their heads with a shawl.
The mosque stands on the site of a former Crusader cathedral, the cellars of which were put into use by the Turks as cisterns. The columns in the courtyard were ‘adopted’ from Roman Caesarea.
Around by the base of the minaret, the small twin-domed building contains the sarcophagi of Al Jazzar and his adopted son and successor, Süleyman.
