Great Mosque of Tlemcen

Great Mosque of Tlemcen- الجامع الكبير لتمسان
Basic information
Location	Algeria, Tlemcen
Affiliation	Islam
Province	Tlemcen
District	Tlemcen
Municipality	Tlemcen
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Mosque
Architectural description
Architectural type	Mosque
Architectural style	Islamic, Almoravid
Specifications
Minaret(s)	1

The Great Mosque of Tlemcen (Arabic: الجامع الكبير لتلمسان‎, el-Jemaa el-Kebir litilimcen) was first built in Tlemcen, Algeria in 1082. It is one of the best preserved examples of Almoravid architecture. It was built under sultan Yusuf ibn Tashfin, but substantially reconstructed and enlarged by his son Ali ibn Yusuf. An inscription dates this reconstruction to 1136. Sultan Yaghmoracen (1236-1283), the founder of the Abdalwadid dynasty of Tlemcen added a section with a minaret and a dome in the 13th century. Next to the mosque there used to be an Islamic court (Makhama) and an Islamic university of considerable fame.

See also

• History of Medieval Arabic and Western European domes

References

• Jairazbhoy, R.A. (1972), ‘An Outline of Islamic Architecture', p. 92
• Michell, M. et al. (eds.) (1978), ‘Architecture of the Islamic World', Thames and Hudson, London, p. 219
• M. Hattstein and P. Delius (eds.) (2000), 'Islam Art and Architecture', Konemann, Cologne

External links

Great Mosque of Tlemcen, Algeria

• Muslimheritage.com http://www.muslimheritage.com/topics/default.cfm?ArticleID=461 (article by Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation)
• Islamic Architecture.org http://www.islamicarchitecture.org/architecture/greatmosqueoftlemcen.html
• MWNF (Museum With No Frontiers), Discover Islamic Art

Coordinates: 34°53′01″N 1°18′38″W / 34.8837°N 1.3105°W