Ketchava Mosque
The Ketchava Mosque ( Arabic جامع كتشاوة Djami 'Kitschawa , in Algerian Arabic and Berber Djamaa Ketchaoua ) is the former Catholic St. Philip's Cathedral ( French cathédrale Saint-Philippe ) in the Kasbah district of the Algerian capital, Algiers ; it is located near the National Library and the Great Mosque . It is considered a unique combination of Moorish and Byzantine architectural elements and a symbol for the history of the city of Algiers and all of Algeria. The current facade wasdesignedby the French architect Albert Balluuntil 1890.
The foundations of the building go back to the year 1436. According to an inscription from 1794, the building was transformed into a typical Ottoman mosque in the 16th century under Dey Hassan, the son of Cheireddin Barbarossa . From 1832 the building served as the cathedral of St. Philip. After the conquest of Constantine by the French under Sylvain-Charles Valée in 1840, Philipps Cathedral was given a cross on its point. With the victory of the National Liberation Front (FLN) in the Algerian War and the expulsion of the French and Jews from Algeria, the cathedral was converted into a mosque in 1962. The organ installed in 1929 was partially destroyed.
A 23-step staircase leads to the portico of the Ketchava Mosque, which is supported by four dark-colored marble columns . The arcades inside the mosque are made of white marble. The two minarets are octagonal and each have two balconies ( Scherefs ).
From September 2008 to 2017, the mosque was restored and reopened with the help of the Turkish Presidium for International Cooperation and Coordination (TIKA) for 300 million Algerian dinars .
Web links
- Mosques converted from churches / cathedrals / synagogues. (No longer available online.) World Heritage Site, archived from the original on Aug. 4, 2011 ; Retrieved November 12, 2010 .
- The Magnificent Ketchaoua Mosque in Algiers. (pdf) (No longer available online.) Travel North Africa Times, April 12, 2008, archived from the original on July 22, 2011 ; Retrieved November 12, 2010 .
Coordinates: 36 ° 47 ′ 6 ″ N , 3 ° 3 ′ 38 ″ E