Mayada Srouji
The Sudano-Sahelian architecture style is known for being simple but very beautiful. This kind of architecture is a mixture of different indigenous African styles. The buildings are typically built with mudbricks and adobe plaster. As the surroundings are flat, the buildings, mosques, residential houses and youth houses, catch the eye immediately. Below is a list of a few of the beautiful mosques that were built in the Sudano-Sahelian style.
1. The Great Mosque of Djenné, Mali
This enormous building in Mali is considered one of the most famous landmarks in Africa. An annual festival, with lots of food and music, at the Great Mosque brings the community together. They also use this opportunity to repair the damages inflicted on the mosque because of the high temperatures.
2. Larabanga Mosque, the oldest Mosque in Ghana
The beautiful mosque in Ghana is one of the oldest mosques in West Africa and is referred to as the ‘Mecca of West Africa”, being a place of pilgrimage.
3. The Agadez Mosque, Niger
The tall tower of the Agadez mosque served as a watchtower, because the city was a fortified city in the past so it had to be able to stand against the siege.
4. Bobo Dioulasso Grand Mosque, Burkina Faso
This mosque was built in the end of the 19th century as a result of a political deal between the local king and Islamic religious leader.
5. The Grand Mosque in Bani, Burkina Faso
The beautiful mosque of Bani is situated in a small desert village and is the country’s most important Islamic site.
6. Sankore Mosque, Timbuktu
The mosque in Timbuktu forms, together with two other mosques, became a university that was very important during islamic history and became very important under the reign of Mansa Musa, also known as ‘the richest man in the history’.
