Agadez Mosque () is a prominent

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

Agadez Agadez ( Air Tamajeq: ⴰⴶⴰⴷⴰⵣ, ''Agadaz''), formerly spelled Agadès, is the fifth largest city in Niger, with a population of 110,497 based on the 2012 census. The capital of the eponymous Agadez Region, the city lies in the Sahara ...

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

. It was made of

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

and is the tallest mud-brick structure in the world. The Agadez mosque is the most prominent religious center located in the central part of the Republic of the Niger, and has been a place of worship for centuries. The mosque hosts thousands of Muslims for Friday's prayers. Every year, Muslims travel long distance to visit the mosque for tourism and spiritual purposes.

History

The mosque was built in 1515 at the time when the city was captured by the

Songhai Empire The Songhai Empire was a state located in the western part of the Sahel during the 15th and 16th centuries. At its peak, it was one of the largest African empires in history. The state is known by its historiographical name, derived from its lar ...

. It was restored and some of it was rebuilt in 1844. This mosque was built by Imam Bakhili, a famous

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

scholar, who originated from the

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

region. Legend has it that he built this mosque in a single night between

Isha prayer Isha (), alternatively also transliterated as Isha'a, and also known as Khoftan or Khooftaan, is one of the mandatory five daily Islamic prayers, and contains four cycles. Ahadith mentioning virtues Uthman reported that he heard Muhammad say ...

and dawn. Due to the mosque bearing some resemblance to the construction techniques used in structures around

Timbuktu Timbuktu ( ; ; Koyra Chiini: ; ) is an ancient city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. It is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali, having a population of 32,460 in the 2018 census. ...

, it is believed that the

Tuareg people The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; Endonym and exonym, endonym, depending on Tuareg languages#Subclassification, variety: ''Imuhaɣ'', ''Imušaɣ'', ''Imašeɣăn'' or ''Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berbers, Berber ethnic group, ...

went there in order to learn the

architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

techniques for the construction of the mosque. By using local available materials, which were dried in the sun, the builders created a long-lasting durable structure. The central

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

in Agadez is accompanied by a minaret which is some 27 meters (89 feet) tall, making it the tallest ever constructed of mud brick. The mosque serves as a compass for the people to get around the city, and at one point of time throughout its history, served as a watchtower. The mosque is a beacon of the long-running history of the city that has survived the harsh

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

environment.

References

Religious buildings and structures completed in 1515 Mosques in Niger Sudano-Sahelian architecture Religious buildings and structures in Niger Religious organisations based in Niger 16th-century mosques in Africa {{Niger-struct-stub

History

See also

References