Taynal Mosque

Lonely Planet review

Taynal Mosque is one of the most outstanding examples of Islamic religious architecture in Tripoli. Built in 1336 by Sayf ed-Din Taynal on the ruins of an earlier Carmelite church, it still has a partially preserved Carmelite nave in the first prayer hall. Other recycled elements, including two rows of Egyptian granite columns topped with late-Roman capitals, were taken from an earlier monument.

The simplicity of the bare stone walls contrasts beautifully with some of the Mamluk decorative elements, in particular the entrance to the second prayer hall, a masterpiece of alternating black-and-white bands of stone with Arabic inscriptions, marble panels with geometric designs and a honeycomb-patterned half-dome.