A mosque and
hostel have been located at the present site since at least the 12th century CE. The mosque had a
madrasa and was a center for religious learning in the 19th and parts of the 20th century. The mosque was named after Hashim. The Sayed al-Hashim Mosque was frequented by visiting traders from
Egypt,
Arabia and
Morocco. The existing mosque was built in 1850, on the orders of the
Ottoman sultan
Abdul Majid. Some of the older materials used in the mosque’s construction were taken from the mosques and other buildings destroyed by
Napoleon Bonaparte's troops. The original Ottoman minaret was rebuilt in 1903 and the north and west aisles were also built during the same period. The mausoleum of Hashim is located in the north-western corner of the mosque. ==See also==