Djamaa el Kebir

The Djamaa El Kebir of Algiers stands in the Casbah and is regarded as the oldest mosque in the city. It was built in 1097 and was known as al-Jami' al-A'zam (the Great Mosque) in the Almoravid period. Together with the Great Mosques of Tlemcen and Nedroma, it is among the few surviving works of Almoravid architecture. It has undergone additions and reconstructions since its foundation. The Casbah of Algiers is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the mosque forms part of it.

The mosque dates to the period of Almoravid rule over the central Maghreb, today's Algeria. One Arabic source gives its foundation date as 1 Rajab 490 AH, corresponding to 18 June 1097. Our record names Ali ibn Yusuf ibn Tashfin as the patron. It is believed to have been raised on the remains of a Christian cathedral from the Roman era.

The minaret is dated to 1324 and was built by the Zayyanid sultan Abu Tashfin I, in the manner of the minaret of the Great Mosque of Tlemcen. It has not kept its original form. The mosque has also seen further additions and reconstructions since its foundation.