Great Mosque of Tlemcen

The Great Mosque of Tlemcen is a significant religious building located in Tlemcen, Algeria. Tlemcen, historically known as Pomaria by the Romans and Agadir by the Berbers, became an important cultural and trading center, especially when it served as the capital of the \u02bfAbd al-W\u0101did kingdom from the 13th to 15th centuries.1

The Great Mosque itself was built by the Almoravids in the 12th century. While Tlemcen has many medieval buildings influenced by Moorish Spain, the Great Mosque is a notable exception, reflecting an earlier Almoravid style. The Almoravids were a confederation of Berber tribes who established an empire in northwestern Africa and Spain in the 11th and 12th centuries. The mosque's mi\u1e25r\u0101b (prayer niche) is particularly ornate, featuring multilobed arches decorated with arabesques, indicative of trends that would develop under later dynasties.12