Djamaa el Kebir

**Djamaa el Kebir** (Arabic: الجامع الكبير, romanized: *djama' el-kebir*), dem sanso know am as de **Great Mosque of Algiers** (French: *Grande mosquée d'Alger*), be a historic mosque insyd Algiers, Algeria. E dey locate within de Casbah (old city), near de city ein harbor. E dey date to 1097, e be one of de few remaining examples of Almoravid architecture, although na e undergo oda additions den reconstructions since ein foundation. E be de oldest mosque insyd Algiers wey na dem say e be one of de oldest mosques insyd Algeria after Sidi Okba Mosque den Sidi Ghanem Mosque.

## History

An inscription for de mosque ein minbar (pulpit) dey record de date of 1 Rajab, 490 AH, wey dey testify to de fact say na dem build de mosque insyd anaa around 1097 CE, during de reign of Yusuf ibn Tashfin. De inscription for de base of de minaret dey indicate say na dem build insyd 1322 CE (17 Dhu al-Qadah, 722 AH) by de Zayyanid sultan Abu Tashfin I of Tlemcen.

Na dem severely damage de mosque during de French bombardment of Algiers insyd 1682 den again insyd 1683, wey dey result in de subsequent reconstruction of ein *mihrab* den ein *qibla* (southern) wall.

Na dem build de gallery for de outsyd of de mosque insyd 1837 during French colonial rule. Na de construction be a consequence of a complete reconstruction of de street by de French.

## Geography

De Great Mosque dey locate insyd de northeastern part of de city insyd de historic Casbah (anaa Kasbah) district near de harbor, next to de Chamber of Commerce. Earlier, na de mosque dey locate for de Rue de la Marine insyd Algiers during French colonial rule of Algeria, wich na then ebe de entrance street to Algiers Harbor. Rue de la Marine no longer dey exist wey e be surpassed by de Rue d' Angkor den Boulevard de Ernesto Guevara den insyd de mosque area by a fork road dem call Rue Saadi et Mokhtar Ben Hafidh wich e now dey lie on.

## Architectural features

De mosque get a rectangular floor plan 46 meters wide den 38 meters deep. Na materials dem used in constructing de mosque be stone, brick, roofing tiles den wood, den ornamentation of ceramics wey na dem apply wood.

### Interior
Dem subdivide de prayer hall into eleven aisles wey dey run perpendicular to de southern qibla wall, dem divide by rows of horseshoe arches wey be supported by whitewashed masonry pillars. De central aisle be wider dan de odas, wey dey hint for de T-plan layout wich go cam turn standard insyd subsequent mosque architecture insyd Maghreb. A rectangular courtyard wey dey measure about 11 by 21 meters dey locate insyd de northern part of de mosque, be surrounded by arcades.

De *mihrab*, wich na dem originally build as an integral part of de mosque insyd 1097, na ebe destroyed by de 17th-century French bombardment. De reconstructed *mihrab* be a typical design dem follow insyd 18th-century Algiers insyd de form of indented lobed arches for de end of de central den a much wider nave. Ebe a simple fresco façade plus two small spiral columns wey dey flank am for either side plus an ogive stucco arch dem see in relief. Dem set de *mihrab* insyd a niche plus a flat floor. Dey adjoin de *mihrab* for either side, der be two door openings wich dey lead to small oblong rooms, one of wich house de *minbar* wich used to be shifted for rails to de prayer hall give de Imam make he say de daily prayers den give sermons. While na de rails wey dem use take shift de *minbar* be still embedded insyd de floor, dem now preserve de *minbar* einself insyd de National Museum of Antiquities and Islamic Arts insyd Algiers.

File:Great Mosque of Algiers (Djamaa el Kebir).jpg|Interior of de mosque ein prayer hall
File:Djamâa El Kebir.jpg|View of de aisle wey dey lead towards de mihrab
File:محراب الجامع.jpg|De mihrab of de mosque today


### Exterior

Dey follow de realignment of de main street of Rue de la Marine, substantial changes insyd de façade cam turn an essential additional feature. As a result, na dem add a gallery anaa portico of columns for de entrance to de mosque wey na dem build am insyd 1837 under French colonial rule insyd an orientalizing style of polylobed arches. E dey reuse Italian marble columns from de 18th-century al-Sa'ida Mosque.

According to French scholar Georges Marçais, de minaret, wich na dem first add insyd de early 14th century, na dem san rebuild anaa remodel am insyd a later period. Dis minaret ein surface be indented plus rectangular niches dem decorate by polylobed blind arches, as well as plus panels den bands of blue den white ceramic tiles. Insyd anoda part of de mosque, insyd de north-east corner, be de *Bab al-Jenina* wich, along plus de minaret, be meant for de exclusive use of de imam of de mosque. E get chaw rooms for routine use.

## De minbar

Dem now preserve de original *minbar* of de mosque now insyd de National Museum of Antiquities and Islamic Arts. Ebe one of de finest sculpted *minbars* of ein type insyd Algeria. E dey bear an inscription insyd Kufic script wey dey say:
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم أتم هذا المنبر في أول شهر رجب من سنة تسعين وأربعمائة. الذي عمل محمد ('Insyd de name of Allah, de Compassionate, de Merciful. Dem plete dis pulpit for de first of de month of Rajab of de year 490 [AH]. Work of Muhammad.'). Dem sculpt de *minbar* insyd wood dem fix on wheels for free movement of de Almoravid period. Dem pattern am insyd de simple shape of de paneled *minbar* of de Great Mosque of Qairawan.

## Notable Imams

* Mohamed Charef (1908-2011)

## References


## Read further
* ''Alger, quelques-unes de ses mosquées'', le Comité du Vieil Alger, Feuillets d'El-Djezaïr, Fondateur Henri Klein (1910), Éditions du Tell, 2003
* Bourouiba, R., Les inscriptions commémoratives des mosquées d’Algérie, Algiers, OPU, 1984, p.&nbsp;81–86
* Bourouiba, R., L’art religieux musulman en Algérie, Algiers, S.N.E.D., 1983
* Bourouiba, R., Apports de l’Algérie à l’architecture religieuse arabo-islamique, Algiers, OPNA, 1956
* Devoulx, A., Les édifices religieux de l'ancien Alger, Algiers, Bastide, 1870
* Marçais, G., L’architecture musulmane d’occident, Tunisie, Algérie, Espagne et Sicile, Paris, Arts et Métiers Graphiques, 1954

## External links

* Museum with no frontiers, Ali Lafer, ''The Great Mosque (djamaa el-kebir)''
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