The coloured facade
Yellow, red and green.
Gildaskiki — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rachad sanoussi — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rachad sanoussi — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Zokoluc11 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Salamath Ogountola — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Great Mosque of Porto-Novo is a mosque in Benin's official capital, dating from 1935. It is known for its colourful Afro-Brazilian facade, a style brought by people returning from Brazil after the abolition of slavery, so it resembles the churches of Salvador da Bahia. It is one of the most unusual mosques in West Africa and a record of how the city changed. Islam reached Porto-Novo in the 19th century through Hausa and Yoruba traders from Nigeria. King Sodji appointed a spiritual leader for the Muslims and gave them land near the royal palace, where the first mosque went up in the 1880s. A delegation later went to Lagos to see its main mosque, built in Brazilian style, and the new mosque followed its example. You see a tall facade decorated in faded yellow, red and green, with arches, windows and repeated patterns, and square towers on either side. The building has two storeys and a tiled floor of about 3,700 square metres. Beside it stands a newer yellow mosque with slender white minarets. The Jardin des Plantes et de la Nature is about 1 km away in a straight line, and Cotonou about 26 km. Non-Muslims usually view it from outside. Dress modestly and avoid prayer times.
Yellow, red and green.
On either side.
White minarets.
Central Porto-Novo, Benin
It follows the Brazilian style brought by returnees from Brazil.
Non-Muslims usually view it from outside, so ask first.
