Djamaa el Kebir of Algiers

The Great Mosque of Algiers was founded in 1097 under the Almoravids and is the oldest mosque in the city and one of the oldest still in use in the country. Its prayer hall is a forest of horseshoe arches on plain piers in the western Islamic manner, sober and without ornament, and the minaret was added in the fourteenth century under the Zayyanids. The arcaded gallery along the street front, with its white columns, dates from the nineteenth century, when the road outside was widened. It sits low among the buildings of the lower town rather than dominating them, and it continues in daily use as it has for over nine hundred years.

History

An inscription on the minbar, dated 1 Rajab 490 AH, shows that the mosque was built in or around 1097 under the Almoravid ruler Yusuf ibn Tashfin, which makes it the oldest mosque in Algiers and one of the few surviving works of Almoravid architecture, and an inscription at the foot of the minaret records that the Zayyanid sultan Abu Tashfin I of Tlemcen built it in 1322. The French bombardments of Algiers in 1682 and 1683 badly damaged the mosque, and its mihrab and qibla wall were rebuilt afterwards; the gallery along the outside was added in 1837, under French rule, when the street was completely rebuilt (Wikipedia, Djamaa el Kebir).

What you'll find

• Horseshoe arches on plain piers - the Almoravid prayer hall.
• The fourteenth-century minaret - the Zayyanid addition.
• The nineteenth-century arcaded front - the gallery along the street.
• Nine centuries of continuous use - the oldest mosque in the city.

When to go

October to May. One hour. Visiting is outside prayer times; modest dress is required and women should cover the head.

Good to know

Access for non-Muslims is at the discretion of those at the door and is not guaranteed. The street outside is narrow and heavily trafficked. Interior photography is usually not permitted. There is no interpretation.

Nearby

Djamaa el Djedid is nearby; the Casbah rises behind.

Key facts