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The Great Mosque of Kilwa is the earliest remaining mosque structure on
the Swahili coast of Africa. Notable for the absence of a courtyard seen in
Muslim places of worship, it was built in two stages - the small northern
prayer hall dating from the 11th century and the 14th century southern enlargement. The original prayer hall was composed of 16
bays divided by nine pillars holding a coral plaster roof. 40 cms square, the octagonal pillars are cut from coral-stone whose lime content
hardens on contact with water to form a solid concrete. The mihrab
prayer niche is seen in the northern prayer hall next to dressed coral-stone steps indicating a minbar or pulpit. A small sunken courtyard
reached via an ante-room contains an ablutions tank and a round sandstone
block set in the floor to exfoliate the feet after washing. The mosque fell
into disrepair in the 13th century but was reconstructed during the
rule of Sultan Sulaiman ibn Muhammad in the 15th century when its
southern hall was fully enclosed and roofed with barrel vaulting and domes.
This extension made it the largest covered mosque in East Africa. Among early worshippers were the Shirazi
sultans of Kilwa trading in gold, slaves and ivory. A wealthy town at the
time, Kilwa
minted its own coins which are still picked up on the beach. Its
scattered ruins including the Great Mosque and the Small Domed Mosque, the
palace of Husuni Kubwa the Makutani palace and the Gereza Fort were inscribed
on the World Heritage List in 1981. The Great Mosque is located on
the island of Kilwa Kisiwani a short boat-ride off Kilwa Maroko mainland
Tanzania.
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