Antakya Habibi-Naccar Mosque, one of the first mosques built in Anatolia, was destroyed in the earthquake that killed tens of thousands of people in Turkey.

Habibi-Naccar Mosque, built on a pagan temple from the Roman period, is known for being one of the first mosques built in Anatolia.

The historical Habib-i Neccar Mosque is located in Antakya, Hatay Province, Turkey. It is named for the carpenter Habib al-Najjar or Habib the Carpenter, who lived during the time of Jesus. He was crucified in the early years of Christianity for refusing to accept Christianity.

It was built in 636 A.D. and Islam started to spread in Anatolia from here. Habib-ün Neccar, who believed in the apostles of the Prophet Jesus, was a martyr praised in the Quran. His tomb was inside the mosque.

Photo: DHA

Muslims believe he who was martyred for calling people to the religion of God. He is referred to in the Quran, (36, Ya-Sin, verses 20-27) as the supporter of the disciples calling the people to the worship of the One God: “Then there came running, from the farthest part of the city, a man, saying, ‘O my people! Obey the messengers. Obey those who do not ask any reward of you (for themselves), and who have themselves received guidance.’” [Quran 36:20-21]

A picture of the wreckage of the historic mosque believed to have been built in 636 AD shows that only a pile of rubble remains from the building.

The city was captured first by the Rashidun Caliphate in 637, then by the Byzantine Empire in 969. It was captured again by the Seljuk Turks in 1084, lost to the Crusaders in 1098, and reclaimed by the Baibars of the Mamluk Sultanate in 1268. In each case, the status of the building was changed from church to mosque and back again. An inscription in the mosque states that it was rebuilt in 1275 CE after Baibars converted it to a mosque.

The mosque was demolished during the 1853 earthquake. It was rebuilt on its earlier foundation by the Ottomans, but the minaret was left standing and is the oldest surviving part of the mosque that is visible.

The mosque was renovated during the Ottoman period when the madrasa (Islamic religious school) was added to its enclosure in the center of Hatay and used to serve as one of the most visited tourist spots in the city, according to the Hatay Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism.