Great Mosque Jenna: features of the construction
Great Mosque Jenna: features of the construction
A small town of Jenna is considered the oldestonly in the Republic of Mali, but also throughout the west of the continent. Special development of the town was not received. Further French colonization of Mali did not bring the benefits of civilization. The peasant way of life remained in the city. However, in Jenna there was one cult structure, which in its appearance surprised the natives. It was the so-called Great Mosque, made entirely of clay.
The first mosque built in Jenna is notpreserved. According to the stories of local residents, it was destroyed by representatives of other tribes who came to these places. But this did not stop the residents - they again started to work. They made a brick out of clay, dried it in the sun, then they built walls of it and erected their temple anew.
The present mosque Malians began to build in 1905year. Construction lasted four years. As before, they made a brick from clay, dried it and then stacked on top of each other, forming a wall of meter thick. The basis was made especially wide. Then everything was coated with clay putty. The main tool in this case were the hands, which carefully smoothed the clay. That is why the walls of the mosque look like polished.
For the greater fortress of walls and ornaments, palm trunks were inserted in them. During the repair work, they could be used as scaffolding.
The central eastern wall of the mosque - kibla - withThe three towers are directed to the East, to Mecca. The mosque itself stands on a three-meter bulk earth platform, towering above the market square. The main entrance is led by a stone staircase.
The roof over the prayer hall is made of a skeletonpalm trunks and smeared with clay, it is supported by 9 internal partitions. Light in the prayer hall comes from the windows - they are small and are in disarray. The floor is earthy. Conical spiers-columns, they are minarets, decorated with ostrich eggs.
The Great Mosque in Jenna has remained such asit was built in 1909. True, she had loudspeakers - this is the only innovation of civilization that the Malians risked installing. There is no electricity in the mosque.
