Djama’a al-Djedid (New Mosque)
Mosque of the Fisheries
Algiers, Algeria
Hegira 1070 / AD 1660
Ottoman
Dey Mustafa Pasha.
This Hanafite mosque was built in AH 1070 H / AD 1660 on the site of the Abu 'Inan Madrasa. Lower down, on the seafront, were situated the small mosque, referred to as the Mosque of the Fishermen, and the Gate of the Sea (Bab al-Bahr).
The ovoid-shaped central dome – whose intrados reaches a height of 24 metres at the summit – rests on four pillars via a drum and four pendentives. The square spaces in each of the four corners are capped within the area enclosed by this dome by four octagonal cupolas. Of the areas between these square spaces, three are each covered by a barrel vault. The fourth area, which faces the qibla wall, is covered by a fourth vault that has three bays and is flanked on both sides by two aisles, which are covered by one of the four octagonal cupolas and by a vaulted ceiling.
The elongation of the barrel vault opposite the qibla, along with the three other vaults, forms a Latin cross layout, which gave birth to the myth of a Christian architect marking this mosque with the symbol of his faith.
The New Mosque was built on the site of the Abu 'Inan madrasa. The central ovoid cupola rises to a great height. There is an octagonal cupola above a square space at each corner of the building. These spaces are separated by barrel vaults, with the exception of the one opposite the qibla wall, whose vault extends over three bays. This latter, longer, vault forms a Latin cross with the other three, which has led to suggestions of a link with Christian architecture.
G. Marçais, citing Édifices religieux de l'ancien Alger by Delvoux.
Bourouiba, R., Apports de l'Algérie à l'architecture arabo-islamique, Algiers, 1986.
Cresti, F., Contributions à l'histoire d'Alger, Rome, 1993.
Dokali, R., Les mosquées de la période turque à Alger, Algiers, 1974.
Missoum, S., Alger à l'époque ottomane, Aix-en-Provence; Algiers, 2003.
Ali Lafer "Djama’a al-Djedid (New Mosque)" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;dz;Mon01;12;en
Prepared by: Ali LaferAli Lafer
Architecte diplômé de l'École nationale d'architecture et des beaux-arts d'Alger, stagiaire du Centre international pour la conservation et la restauration des biens culturels (ICCROM) à Rome, Ali Lafer a été architecte en chef des Monuments au ministère de la Culture pendant son service civil. Directeur de l'Atelier Casbah chargé des études d'aménagement de la médina d'Alger, il a également enseigné au cours de Tunis pour la formation d'architectes du patrimoine maghrébin. Membre fondateur de l'association “Les amis du Tassili”, il est aussi chercheur dans les domaines de la numérisation de la documentation graphique et du relevé photogrammétrique.
Copyedited by: Margot Cortez
Translation by: Maria Vlotides
Translation copyedited by: Monica Allen
MWNF Working Number: AL 13
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