Publication Date
590 AH / 1136 AD
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;dz;Mon01;1;ar
Library Location
Tlemcen, Algeria
Date
590 AH / 1136 AD
Notes
The Great Mosque of Tlemcen, like the other Maghreb Almoravid mosques, is organized in a design that uses tiles perpendicular to the “Qibla” wall, and a rectangular courtyard surrounded by galleries on the two small sides. It represents the first Maghreb model of religious architecture. The original plan (which did not include the two new porticoes preceding the minaret) was a rectangle, cut into a triangular area in its northwestern part. The total length is approximately 55 meters and its width is slightly less than this measurement. The prayer hall was divided into thirteen naves, seven of which were an extension of the naves of the prayer hall, and framed the courtyard on two sides (four on one side and three on the other). Above the entrance was a “bridge” from which the “yayat” echoed the imam’s prayers. Each naves were covered with a tiled roof composed of two double surfaces. The beams of the wooden structure rest on load-bearing joints on which a floral decoration is carved. The two domes of the central nave are covered with tetrahedral tiled roofs. As is the case in the Great Mosque of Algiers, an almost ascetic sobriety strongly highlights the decorated areas that are summarized in the main corridor and in the mihrab that leads to it. The beginning of this corridor, which departs from the courtyard, is indicated by a multi-lobed arch, higher than the rest of the arches. The regular rhythm of the supports was interrupted: two cups preceding the “mihrab” were interrupted by two marble columns, while in the following supports, we see an arch with wreaths and merlons that goes beyond the slab. The mihrab is richly decorated: the arch of the niche, completely round and wide, rests on two small marble halves. Behind the arch, castanets radiate with a decoration in the form of branches surrounded by a necklace with wreaths. Two candlestick discs stand out on either side of this halo above the corner floors of the arches, which are full of decorations. Surrounding the arch and its corners is a frieze with right angles bearing an inscription in Kufic letters. A frieze of acanthus leaves runs above the horizontal band, linked via a frame to a band of blind trefoil arches that crowns the whole. In front of the “mihrab” stands a magnificent dome, open with interlaced veins that spreads transparent daylight.
Sample Text
Ali Lafer “The Great Mosque” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;dz;Mon01;1;ar
