Publication Date
575 AH / 1180 AD
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;dz;Mon01;32;ar
Library Location
Shalala-Dharaniyeh is 140 km away from Bayadh and 74 km away from Ain Safra. It is part of forty palaces (fortified villages; its singular form is the mountains of palaces, Algeria).
Date
575 AH / 1180 AD
Notes
The "palace" is surrounded by a wall consisting of individual dwellings. The plan of this wall is almost identical to the shape of a trapezoid, and the main streets radiate out, forming a star with the “Jamaa” center as its center, meaning the assembly square. As for the important buildings, in addition to the mosque and the “community”, they are: the Qur’anic school adjacent to the mosque, the “court”, the “zawiyah” of Moulay Abdelkader Al-Jilali, the “maqam” of Sidi Suleiman, the Hammam of Al-Musiriyah, the Travelers’ House, the doors, springs, ponds, and the underground canal that passes under the “palace”... The mosque was built on a semi-triangular level, and consists of five bays oriented north-south, and divided into four rows made up of five, four, or three pillars. Or two. The mihrab is five-sided; The pulpit is replaced by a two-tiered recess. The quadrangular minaret is decorated with a band that extends to half the height, and the roof has four detachments at the corners. The height of the skylight and its dome reaches 15 metres. The roof was also provided with a skylight surmounted by a dome, with the aim of obtaining daylight lighting. Like all similar “palaces” in the region, the Shalala-Dahraniyah Mosque, which is also the oldest mosque, amazes us with its extreme simplicity, which is the secret of its beauty. The “community” has an irregular shape surrounded by durable benches made of stones leaning against the wall. The houses are all one or two floors (ground floor and first floor), as well as rooms and service rooms, and have an accessible courtyard and deck.
Sample Text
Ali Lafer “Shalala-Dahraniya” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;dz;Mon01;32;ar
