Dinguiraye

Dinguiraye
Sub-prefecture and town

Market in Dinguiraye
Dinguiraye

Location in Guinea

Coordinates: 11°18′N 10°43′W / 11.300°N 10.717°W / 11.300; -10.717
Country  Guinea
Region Faranah Region
Prefecture Dinguiraye Prefecture
Population (2014 census)
  Total 47,250

Dinguiraye is a small town in northern Guinea, known for its large mosque which until recently was thatched. As of 2014 it had a population of 47,250 people.[1]

History

Mosquée de Dinguiraye ca. 1900

The town and its mosque hold special historical importance; El Hadj Umar Tall founded the Toucouleur Empire in the city and initially made it his capital. Al-Hadj Umar also built the city's large mosque at this time and the city served as a staging ground for his 1850 jihad.[2]

Notable people

References

  1. "Guinea". Institut National de la Statistique, Guinea, accessed via Geohive. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  2. Histoire d'Afrique: les enjeux de mémoire, Jean-Pierre Chrétien, Jean-Louis Triaud KARTHALA Editions, 1. jan. 1999, pg.73

Coordinates: 11°18′N 10°43′W / 11.300°N 10.717°W / 11.300; -10.717

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, March 21, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.