Djamaa el Djedid

Djamaa el Djedid, the new mosque, was built in 1660 during the Ottoman period on what is now Place des Martyrs by the Algiers waterfront, and its plan is unusual for a mosque of its time and place: a cross shape under a large central dome with four smaller half-domes, an arrangement that has invited comparisons with Byzantine church planning and has produced a long argument about who designed it. A tall square minaret in the local manner stands beside it. The whitewashed exterior and the scale of the dome make it one of the landmarks of the lower city, and it remains in daily use, surrounded by the traffic and market activity of the square.

History

An inscription over the main entrance dates the mosque's completion to 1070 AH, 1659 or 1660, and credits it to al-Hajj Habib, a Janissary governor of the Algiers region appointed by the Ottoman administration in Constantinople. Under French rule it was known as the Mosque of the Fishermen's Wharf, the Mosquée de la Pêcherie, and one imam, Mohamed Charef, served it from 1908 until 2011 (Wikipedia, Djamaa el Djedid).

The main sights

• A cross-shaped plan under one dome - unusual among Ottoman mosques.
• Four half-domes around the centre - the structure carrying the roof.
• The square minaret - the local form beside the domed hall.
• The seafront square setting - the mosque among the traffic of Place des Martyrs.

When to go

October to May. One hour. It is a working mosque and visiting is around prayer times. Modest dress is expected and heads covered for women.

What to expect

Entry for non-Muslims is not assured and depends on the day. The square outside is busy, noisy and under long-running excavation and construction. Photography inside is often not allowed.

Nearby

The Casbah rises behind; the Palais des Rais lies west along the front.

Key facts