Mosque of Djenne

It seems that time has stopped here. These were the homes in Djenne, probably, five centuries ago. So they stayed and now - entirely built of clay, in full accordance with the local traditional style. The most famous building in clay, carefully preserved here more than a century - Mosque, the largest such mosque in the Islamic world. 

more images after the break...

Islam - the main religion of Mali, ninety percent of which are devout Muslims. In this case, not everywhere Islam is life itself, forming its foundation. Jenna - one of those places where a mosque - not just a house of prayer, and spiritual center of the city. And here is the greatest achievement of the Sudano-Sahelian style in architecture - clay mosque, the largest mosque in such a world.

The mosque is built entirely out of the bank - a mixture of clay, straw and manure. From the bank then build everything - there's even a special committee, diligence and for ensuring that all new buildings were erected in Djenne exclusively from the bank. Congregational mosque was built around the 13th century, but the current structure dates from 1907, and has since been repaired almost every year - the clay - a material is shaky, and if you do not upgrade every year, the walls and roof, the building just "melt" in the rainy season.