Mihrab dome
Pierced ribs.
Tonowari — CC BY-SA 4.0 · BRAHIM DJELLOUL Mustapha — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Noureddine Gori — CC BY-SA 2.5 · BRAHIM DJELLOUL Mustapha — CC BY-SA 4.0
One of the oldest and most beautiful mosques of the Islamic Maghreb, built by the Almoravids in the eleventh and twelfth centuries in the heart of Tlemcen, the city once called the pearl of the Maghreb, and among the most important surviving works of Almoravid architecture. The mosque's best-known treasure is the ribbed dome over the mihrab, a delicate lattice of interlacing pierced stone ribs that lets light filter through, with floral stucco and Arabic inscriptions, one of the finest examples of Islamic art in Andalusia and the Maghreb. The prayer hall stretches in rows of horseshoe arches, from which hangs a huge historic bronze chandelier, and a courtyard with a fountain lies at the mosque's centre. Its brick-decorated minaret was added in the thirteenth century under the Zayyanids. Entry is free outside prayer times, in modest dress with women covering their hair. The mosque is a few steps from El Mechouar Palace and the old town's markets.
Pierced ribs.
Row upon row.
Historic.
Central old town, Tlemcen
The Almoravids in the eleventh and twelfth centuries; its minaret was added under the Zayyanids.
