Great Mosque of Djenne

The Great Mosque of Djenne in Mali is the largest mud-brick (adobe) building in the world and one of the most distinctive examples of Sudano-Sahelian architecture, serving as the spiritual center of the city of Djenne. [1][3]

The original mosque was built in the 13th century CE, but the current structure dates to 1907, built on the foundations of earlier mosques. Djenne has been a center of Islamic learning and trade in West Africa since the medieval period. [1][2]

The mosque is the focal point of the annual Crepissage festival, when the entire community participates in replastering the mosque with fresh mud, a communal act of devotion and maintenance. The building exemplifies the integration of Islamic worship with local African architectural traditions. [1][2]

The Great Mosque and the Old Towns of Djenne are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Non-Muslims are generally not permitted to enter the mosque interior. [3][1]

The mosque is the spiritual heart of Djenne and the focus of the annual replastering festival, the crepissage, when townspeople carry mud to recoat its walls in a communal act of devotion and maintenance. As a working mosque, its interior is generally reserved for Muslim worshippers. [1][2][3]

Built entirely of sun-dried mud brick and earthen plaster, the mosque is the largest adobe building in the world, its walls bristling with palm-wood beams (toron) that double as permanent scaffolding for annual repairs. Three tapering minarets rise from the eastern, qibla-facing wall above the prayer hall. [1][3][2]

Djenne was a center of Islamic learning and trans-Saharan trade in West Africa from the medieval period, and its mosque is the most celebrated example of Sudano-Sahelian architecture. The building shows how Islamic worship took form within local African building traditions. [1][2]