Fakr ad-Din mosque
Encyclopedia
The Fakr ad-Din Mosque is the oldest mosque
in Mogadishu
, Somalia
. It is located in Hamar Weyne (literally "Big Hamar"), the oldest part of the city.
of Mogadishu. Stone, including Indian marble
, and coral
were the primary materials used in the construction of the mosque, which displays a compact rectangular plan with a domed mihrab
axis. Glazed tiles were also used in the decoration of mihrab, one of which bears a dated inscription.
Photographs of the Fakr ad-Din mosque feature in drawings and photographs of central Mogadishu from the late 19th century onwards. The mosque can be identified amidst other buildings by its two cones, one round and the other hexagonal.
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
in Mogadishu
Mogadishu
Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....
, Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
. It is located in Hamar Weyne (literally "Big Hamar"), the oldest part of the city.
Description
The mosque was built in 1269 by the first SultanSultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
of Mogadishu. Stone, including Indian marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
, and coral
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
were the primary materials used in the construction of the mosque, which displays a compact rectangular plan with a domed mihrab
Mihrab
A mihrab is semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla; that is, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca and hence the direction that Muslims should face when praying...
axis. Glazed tiles were also used in the decoration of mihrab, one of which bears a dated inscription.
Photographs of the Fakr ad-Din mosque feature in drawings and photographs of central Mogadishu from the late 19th century onwards. The mosque can be identified amidst other buildings by its two cones, one round and the other hexagonal.
