Great Mosque of Djenne

The Great Mosque of Djenne is found in the Djenne, Mali. The mosque is built in a Sahelian architectural style and it is the world’s largest building to be constructed with mud brick. The first mosque on this site was built in the 13th century and the present building was built in the year 1907. It is also one of Africa’s major landmarks and it was also included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site in the year 1998.

The first mosque on this site was built in between 1200-1300, some earlier documents show that al-Sadi’s Tarikh al-Sudan describing the mosque which was recorded in the 17th century. This document describe the construction of the mosque and how Sultan Kunburu had converted into Islam. At first the sultan built a mosque and bounding walls to the east and later his successor had added towers to the mosque.

The present structure of the mosque was built in the year 1906. The mosque was built under the supervision of Ismalia Traore and the outer walls of the mosque were built similar to the walls that were built in the 13th century. The terrace on the mosque features two tombs,

The walls of the mosque are built of mud bricks and is coated with mud plaster that adds smooth looks to the building. The walls are ornamented with palm tree sticks known as “toron”. The mosque’s platform measures about 75 meters wide and it is about three meters high. The entry to the mosque is from the northern side.

The prayer wall faces towards the east and it features three massive minarets. The eastern wall here is of 3 ft thick and it is made stronger by adding eighteen pilasters. The prayer hall features irregular windows that allows light inside the hall.

In the present day, the Great Mosque of Djenne is a sacred destination to many muslims. A yearly festival is held at the mosque that includes food and music. In addition a race is held here where the participants runs and climbs on the mosque to deliver plaster on the damaged areas.