Sayfiye Mescidi, Tanzanya

Sayfiye Mescidi, Tanzanya

(Saifee Masjid in Tanzania)

TANZANYA (Tanzania)

1. Domed Mosque, Kilwa Kisiwani (Englısh) 
2. GREAT MOSQUE OF KILWA, KILWA (English)
3. Hujjatul Islam Mosque, Zanzibar (English) 
4. Ismaili Jamatkhana Mosque, Forodhani, Zanzibar (English)

GREAT MOSQUE OF KILWA, KILWA, TANZANIA

 GREAT MOSQUE OF KILWA, KILWA, TANZANIA

 West façade from the south. Note barrel vault behind the line of domes. 

The Great Mosque of Kilwa is the earliest remaining mosque structure on the East African coast, though it is predated by elements from the Kizimkazi Mosque in Zanzibar. The Great Mosque, which now stands at the edge of modern Kilwa, was built in at least two distinct stages, which can be seen in the marked difference between the small northern prayer hall built in the eleventh and twelfth centuries and the subsequent fourteenth century southern enlargement. Furthermore, segments of a tenth century foundation predate both sections of the existing mosque layout. The Great Mosque of Kilwa, which is entirely roofed by domes and vaults, has since its construction been widely acknowledged as one of the first mosques built without a courtyard. 

• Southern extension and the Great Dome
• Southern Enclosure of Kilwa Great Mosque
• Northern Ablution Area of Kilwa Great Mosque
• Northern Prayer Hall of Kilwa Great Mosque

       TANZANYA'DAKİ DİĞER CAMİLER              

Southern extension and the Great Dome of Kilwa Great Mosque

Arched door on the east façade. 

In the early fourteenth century, Sultan al-Hasan ibn Sulaiman, the builder of the palace of Husuni Kubwa, built an extension from the east wall of the northern prayer hall, which wrapped around forming a large open court. A very narrow barrel vaulted corridor, consisting of 30 bays complete with dressed coral panels and supported by coral columns ran directly southward. This extension juts out slightly to the east, creating a wing that deviates from the otherwise orthogonal plan.

Southern Enclosure of Kilwa Great Mosque

 Southern Enclosure of Kilwa Great Mosque

Doors and windows of the west façade of the south extension. 

According to the Kilwa Chronicle, after the death of ibn Sulaiman in 1333 the mosque fell into ruin. Not until the early fifteenth century, under the reign of Sultan Sulaiman ibn Muhammad, was the mosque reconstructed and the southern fully court enclosed. Sometime between 1421 and 1442, the southern hall was roofed with barrel vaults with domes placed atop alternate bays. This extension made the Great Mosque at Kilwa the largest covered mosque on the east coast of Africa.

Northern Ablution Area of Kilwa Great Mosque

Arched doorway leading from the south to the north hall. 

To the west of this prayer hall was an ablution court joined to the mosque via an anteroom. This sunken courtyard contained a tank, a well, and a washroom, as well as large round sandstone blocks set in the floor to exfoliate the feet after washing. From the south side of this court, a stairway leads to the roof. The northwest corner of the anteroom leads to a small vaulted chamber that may have served as a private room for the imam. From this room an unroofed passageway runs along the north exterior of the mosque behind the qibla wall. This passageway was partially divided and may have been used or intended for the placement of graves as was common in the coastal tradition.

               GREAT MOSQUE OF KILWA, MAIN HOME                

• Southern extension and the Great Dome
• Southern Enclosure of Kilwa Great Mosque
• Northern Ablution Area of Kilwa Great Mosque
• Northern Prayer Hall of Kilwa Great Mosque

       TANZANYA'DAKİ DİĞER CAMİLER              

Northern Prayer Hall of Kilwa Great Mosque

 Northern Prayer Hall of Kilwa Great Mosque

The mihrab of the north hall. 

The original prayer hall was built in the eleventh or twelfth century and was subsequently modified in the thirteenth century. It was composed of 16 bays divided by nine pillars holding a flat roof of coral plaster. The original pillars were octagonal columns each carved from a single coral stone and measuring 140 centimeters tall and 40 centimeters square. Coral stone has a lime content that hardens with water and saturates the porous coral to create concrete. This sanctuary measured about 7.8 meters side and 12 meters along the qibla axis. The east and western side wall each had three arched doors that were embellished in the thirteenth century with recessed spandrels.

İstikamet Camii, Zengibar, Tanzanya

İstikamet Camii, Zengibar, Tanzanya

Jamiul Istiqama, Zanzibar, Tanzania

Bagh Muharmi Camii, Zanzibar, Tanzanya

Bagh Muharmi Camii, Zengibar, Tanzanya

Zanzibar Camii, Tanzanya

Zanzibar Camii, Tanzanya
 Zanzibar Mosque, Tanzania

Laghbari Mosque, Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania

 Laghbari Mosque, Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania

The Laghbari mosque has one of the finest interiors.

Ismaili Jamatkhana Mosque, Forodhani, Zanzibar, Tanzania

 Ismaili Jamatkhana Mosque, Forodhani, Zanzibar, Tanzania

Hujjatul Islam Mosque, Zanzibar, Tanzania

 Hujjatul Islam Mosque, Zanzibar, Tanzania

The Hujjatul Islam mosque has one of the most ornate exteriors.

Mandhiri Camii, Zanzibar, Tanzania

 Mandhiri Camii, Zanzibar, Tanzania

Mbaye Mosque, Sokomuhogo, Zanzibar, Tanzania

 Mbaye Mosque, Sokomuhogo, Zanzibar, Tanzania

               GREAT MOSQUE OF KILWA, MAIN HOME                

• Southern extension and the Great Dome
• Southern Enclosure of Kilwa Great Mosque
• Northern Ablution Area of Kilwa Great Mosque
• Northern Prayer Hall of Kilwa Great Mosque

       TANZANYA'DAKİ DİĞER CAMİLER              

• Domed Mosque, Kilwa Kisiwani (Englısh) 
• Hujjatul Islam Mosque, Zanzibar (English) 
• Ismaili Jamatkhana Mosque, Forodhani, Zanzibar (English)
• Kizimkazi Mosque, Zanzibar (English)
• Laghbari Mosque, Stone Town, Zanzibar (English) 
• Mandhiri Camii, Zanzibar (English) 
• Mbaye Mosque, Sokomuhogo, Zanzibar (English) 
• Mnara Mosque, Zanzibar (English)
• Moshi Camii, Moshi
• Sayfiye Mescidi
• Tanzanya'da Bir Cami
• Zanzibar Camii, Tanzanya 

Mnara Mosque, Zanzibar, Tanzania

 Mnara Mosque, Zanzibar, Tanzania 

The Mnara mosque is amoung the oldest is Stone Town. It is also sometimes called the Malindi Mosque because of it's location in the Malindi neighborhood of Zanzibar City.

Tanzanya'da Bir Cami, Tanzanya

Tanzanya'da Bir Cami, Tanzanya

Moshi Camii, Moshi, Tanzanya

Moshi Camii, Moshi, Tanzanya

Kizimkazi Mosque, Zanzibar, Tanzania

 Kizimkazi Mosque, Zanzibar, Tanzania

 View From Outside

The Kizimkazi mosque on the south tip of the island of Zanzibar may be the oldest Islamic building on the East African coast. This mosque is actually located three kilometers northwest of the town of Kizimkazi, which in the twelfth century was noted regarded as a substantial and walled city, in a small village known as Dimbani. The original mosque was constructed in the early twelfth century by Shirazi settlers on the island, as is attested to by an inscription incorporated into the later mosque incarnations. The kufic inscription dates it to 500 AH, or 1107 AD, predating any other inscription on the coast, though inscribed dates are rare in this region. This and the trefoil mihrab are the signature features of this mosque.

Domed Mosque, Kilwa Kisiwani, Tanzania

Domed Mosque With Nine Bays at Kilwa, Kilwa Kisiwani, Tanzania

East façade of mosque, note central dome with octagonal pillar flanked by barrell vaults 

on each side.

To the southwest of the Great Mosque of Kilwa was the nine bay Small Domed Mosque, which was built in the mid-fifteenth century and is now only partially standing. Though built two-hundred years later, the Small Domed Mosque mimics the Great Mosque's thirteenth century vault and dome addition. The nine bays are arranged in a square, three bays long and three aisles wide. The central bay is larger than the rest through a lengthening of the middle bays and a widening of the central aisle.