Hala Sultan Tekke (also known as Mosque of Umm Haram) is an Islamic worship place at the bank of Salt Lake in Larnaca, Cyprus built during the Ottoman period.
Literally, Hala Sultan is a Turkish equivalent of Umm Haram and Tekke is a monastery of dervishes, especially in Ottoman Turkey.
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This mosque in Larnaca is built around the tomb of Umm Haram bint Milhan (Arabic: أم حرام بنت ملحان and Turkish: Hala Sultan), who was an Ansari and a companion of Prophet Mohammed PBUH.
As per Official Portal of Cyprus Tourism, was believed to be the sister of the Prophet Mohammed’s foster mother or a follower from Medina to Cyprus. While as per Wikipedia, Umm Haram was the wife of Ubada bin al-Samit, a companion of the Prophet Muhammed PBUH.
Umm Haram arrived on the island (now Cyprus) with her husband either in 647 or 649, when Caliph Moawiya, the Arab Governor of Syria, conquered the island in an effort to expand the Muslim empire in the Mediterranean Sea. Umm Haram died shortly after her arrival and buried in the same place where she had fallen off her mule and died.
Hala Sultan Tekke is a complex that comprises of mosque, minaret, mausoleum, and ancillary buildings and were restored with funding from the people of the United States, through the “Bi-communial Development Program”. The works were conducted in collaboration with the Department of Antiquities of the Ministry of Transport; Communications and works between 2001 and 2005.
From the entrance gate to the mosque, the courtyard has different kids of trees and shrubs, making the place visually appealing to the eyes.
Mosque building is built with stone bricks, without any external painting. There is a large dome on the center of the mosque. The minaret has a metallic cone on the top of it.
Outside the mosque, ablution area is present. The place is covered with a canopy and has sitting arrangement to wash oneself before praying. The ablution is a special virtue, which involves washing hands, face, feet, mouth and nose, as a personal hygiene.
The mosque interior walls are simple and painted in white. There is a carpet on the floor, maroon color, on which you cannot step with shoes on. As its a place of worship, shoes need to be removed before entering the mosque.
A green colored mimbar, a wooden mini staircase with a place to stand in the top, is a special structure, on which the prayer leader (known as Imam) stands for giving the sermon during the Friday Prayer. There are two sermons on the day of Friday after the calls to prayers. These are in Arabic Language.
The windows are large and the base is painted green.
There is a special place for women to pray. This is on the upper level inside the mosque, the way to which goes via the staircase painted in green. An important thing to note is that each stair is also covered with a piece of carpet.
Since the mosque is built besides the Tomb of Umm Haram, the access to the tomb is from inside the mosque’s prayer area. The grave is covered with green color cloth / carpet and few feet before it there’s a mesh that prohibits the access. However, one can see it from the mesh.
The mosque is located on the western bank of the Salt lake, so the lake is visible from inside the prayer room via window and from the outside off-course.
The view to the lake is fascinating from the courtyard and from the side of the mosque.
The mosque is located on the western bank of the famous tourist attraction in Larnaca – The Salt Lake. This site is very near to Larnaca International Airport, which is one of the two major airports in Cyprus.
After coming out of the airport, we headed towards Hala Sultan Tekke and explored this beautiful Islamic Architecture. From Highway B4, a narrow street “Tekke Road” will take you to the mosque.
Check the Google Map Location for Hala Sultan Tekke
Visiting hours from Monday to Sunday is 08:30 hrs to 17:00 hrs or 19:00 hrs depending on season. From September 16 to April 15, the mosque is open until 17:00 hrs, while from April 16 to September 15, its open till 19:00 hrs.
On Friday, the mosque is closed from 13:00 to 15:00 hrs.
There is no fees to enter in Tekke.
As this is a place for worship, modest dressing is a must like other religious sites. To enter the mosque, as per Islamic teachings, both men and women must wear the right attire.
If you are wearing something else, don’t worry, there are long coats hanged at the entrance for wearing to cover up.
Inside the mosque, head scarfs are present to cover the head for praying.
There are so many stray cats inside, outside – everywhere at this place. If you are a cat lover, you will be fascinated to find so many cats at one places.
There is a parking area outside the mosque. We parked our car there.
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