Dome of Yusuf Agha

Not to be confused with the Dome of Yusuf, which is to the north, in the same complex.

The Dome of Yusuf Agha (Arabic: قبة يوسف أغا Qubbat Yūsuf Agha) is a small square building with a dome in the al-Aqsa Compound (al-Ḥaram ash-Sharīf), in the courtyard between the Islamic Museum and al-Aqsa Mosque (al-Qibli).

The Dome of Yusuf Agha in a plaza in the al-Aqsa Compound

History

It was built in 1681 and commemorates Yusuf Agha. He also endowed the Dome of Yusuf,^[1][2] a smaller and more intricate-looking structure about 120 metres (390 ft) to the north.

It was converted in the 1970s into a ticket office^[1][3] and an information kiosk for visitors.^[4]

Environs

It is in the middle of an open-air courtyard that stores detached column capitals.^[5] To its south is the al-Aqsa Library.

To its west are the Islamic Museum and the Moors' Gate (Morocco Gate). There's another domed building to its northwest: the Sabīl Bāb al-Maghāriba (the sebil of the Moors' Gate).

To its southwest is the al-Fakhariyya Minaret. To its north is a mihrab with a small window in it, the mihrab of the Pine Platform (مصطبة الصنوبر) (Maṣṭabat aṣ-Ṣanawbar).

References

1. "Qubbat Yusuf Agha". Institute for International Urban Development (I2UD). Archived from the original on 2022-04-25. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
2. Hillenbrand, Robert (2000). Auld, Sylvia (ed.). Ottoman Jerusalem. London: British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem. p. 16. ISBN 978-1-901435-03-0. […] two structures erected by Yusuf Agha in 1681 – the Qubbat Yusuf (an open-plan aedicule) and the Qubbat Yusuf Agha (a closed domed square) — clearly suggest that, despite the identical terminology, different forms connoted different functions in Jerusalem at that time.
3. Pilgrimage, Sciences and Sufism. Museum with No Frontiers. 2013. ISBN 978-3-902782-11-3. the Haram al-Sharif is free, but an entrance fee is charged for visiting the Dome of the Rock, the Jami'a al-Aqsa Mosque and the Islamic Museum. Tickets can be purchased with local currency from the kiosk outside the Islamic Museum
4. "Domes of Haram al-Sharif". Madain Project.
5. "Column capital". Museum with No Frontiers.

31°46′34.644″N 35°14′6.324″E

External links

• Media related to Dome of Yusuf Agha at Wikimedia Commons
• The outside of the structure on YouTube (41 seconds)
• Panorama of the courtyard with the dome in it. Another panorma, seen from farther north