Great Mosque (Negev Museum)

The Great Mosque of Be'er Sheva is the most architecturally prominent building from the Ottoman founding of the city. Built in 1906 in a simplified Ottoman style with a single minaret, it was the religious and social centre of the original town. After Israeli forces captured Be'er Sheva in 1948, the building was converted to secular use and has housed parts of the Be'er Sheva Museum collection.

The building is visually striking in the context of its surroundings and worth seeing from the outside even if the interior is not accessible. It anchors the northern end of the Old City and is a good starting point for a walk through the Ottoman quarter.

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A story
The mosque was built in 1906 as part of the Ottoman town plan — one of the first buildings constructed when Be'er Sheva was founded as an administrative centre. After 1948 it served variously as a court, a prison, and a museum before being restored to its current function. It is one of the few Ottoman-period buildings in the city that has retained its original exterior largely intact.