Bamako Grand Mosque (french: Grande Mosquée de Bamako) is a
mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
in the city centre of
Bamako
Bamako ( bm, ߓߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ ''Bàmakɔ̌'', ff, 𞤄𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤳𞤮 ''Bamako'') is the capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2009 population of 1,810,366 and an estimated 2022 population of 2.81 million. It is located on the Niger Rive ...
,
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...
. Built on the site of a pre-colonial mud-brick mosque, the current mosque was built through funding from the
Saudi Arabian
Saudis ( ar, سعوديون, Suʿūdiyyūn) are people identified with the country of Saudi Arabia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. The Saudis are composed mainly of Arabs and primarily speak a regional dialect ...
government at the end of the 1970s. One of the tallest structures in Bamako, it is situated north of the
Niger River
The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...
near the central market (''Grand Marche'') and the colonial-era Bamako Cathedral. With its tall cement
minarets built around a square central structure, the building is stylistically closer to Saudi religious structures than West African.
[Velton (2000) p.124] The mosque is visible from much of the city and is occasionally opened to tourists.
See also
*
Islam in Mali
References
Further reading
*Ross Velton. Mali: The Bradt Travel Guide. Guilford, Connecticut: Globe Pequot Press (2000).
Bamako - Mali's colourful and chaotic capital June 19, 2004. igougo.com.
Mosques in Mali
Buildings and structures in Bamako
Mosques completed in the 1970s
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