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Kizimkazi Mosque


History


The Kizimkazi Dimbani Mosque is a mosque that can be found in Tanzania's Dimbani, Kusini District, and Unguja South Region. One of the earliest Islamic structures on the East African coast, it is located on the southernmost point of the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar. Despite its name, it is actually in Dimbani and not 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) from Kizimkazi (this is because the official names of these two joined villages are Kizimkazi Dimbani and Kizimkazi Mtendeni). It was constructed in 1107, based on a kufic inscription that has survived. Despite the fact that the inscription and a few decorative pieces made of coral from the original construction era still exist, the majority of the current structure was rebuilt in the 18th century.

Urban and Architectural


This layout resembles a traditional East African coastal plan in that the mihrab is covered by a row of three columns that runs along the prayer hall's central north-south axis. A entrance courtyard circles the mosque's southern ablution area and cistern after running along its eastern facade. The eastern court and the covered southern ablution chamber both expand outward from the mosque by around one bay, preserving its dimensions and overall shape. The mosque's roof was recently replaced with a corrugated iron one, and the mosque's east wall was recently rebuilt.

Many of the mosques constructed in Zanzibar's Stone Town throughout the nineteenth century are thought to have been inspired by the trefoil mihrab, which dates back to the eighteenth century. The mosque uses the beautiful arch, which ends in a fitting groove rather than a keystone, to support the massive stone ceiling in other places. Along the north wall, on either side of the mihrab, the polylobed and cusped trefoil pattern also takes the form of a plaster arcade where the arches interlock atop protruding shafts. The two inscriptions described above are located above these arcades' cornice lines. Circular coral shafts make constitute a reduced extension of the arcade, which extends into the mihrab apse recess and is divided from an upper arcade by an additional inscription band that wraps around the interior of the mihrab.

Finely crafted coral carvings, which can be found in the niches of this higher order and probably date from the twelfth century and served as the model for later uses of the trefoil, are present there. Each foliated niche is made of a single, two-centimeter-thick coral panel that is thin. Cable-patterned mouldings are scattered throughout the top order carving. The exquisite carving in the coral hints that these components were from the mosque built in the eleventh century.

Description


The mosque was erected by Sheikh Said bin Abi Amran Mfaume al Hassan bin Muhammad in the month of Dhul Kaadi in the year 500 (AH), according to the floriated kufic inscriptions to the left of the mihrab. One further inscription, however, to the right of the mihrab, records a significant restoration in 1184 AH or 1772–1773 AD. As a result, the mosque's main structural components date from the eighteenth century, however later expansions and certain pieces from the eleventh century were incorporated during the rebuilding.

Around the mosque are a number of pillar-decorated seventeenth-century tombs, one of which commemorates Sheikh Ali bin Omar, a man with one arm and one leg. Nowadays, prayer flags are frequently fastened to the graves.

Details

Location

HF76+HW5, Kizimkazi Dimbani, Tanzania

Worshippers

150

Owners

Sheikh Said bin Abi Amran Mfaume al Hassan bin Muhammad

Year of Build

1107

Area

200

Drawings

Map

History

The Kizimkazi Dimbani Mosque is a mosque that can be found in Tanzania's Dimbani, Kusini District, and Unguja South Region. One of the earliest Islamic structures on the East African coast, it is located on the southernmost point of the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar. Despite its name, it is actually in Dimbani and not 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) from Kizimkazi (this is because the official names of these two joined villages are Kizimkazi Dimbani and Kizimkazi Mtendeni). It was constructed in 1107, based on a kufic inscription that has survived. Despite the fact that the inscription and a few decorative pieces made of coral from the original construction era still exist, the majority of the current structure was rebuilt in the 18th century.

Urban and Architectural

This layout resembles a traditional East African coastal plan in that the mihrab is covered by a row of three columns that runs along the prayer hall's central north-south axis. A entrance courtyard circles the mosque's southern ablution area and cistern after running along its eastern facade. The eastern court and the covered southern ablution chamber both expand outward from the mosque by around one bay, preserving its dimensions and overall shape. The mosque's roof was recently replaced with a corrugated iron one, and the mosque's east wall was recently rebuilt.

Many of the mosques constructed in Zanzibar's Stone Town throughout the nineteenth century are thought to have been inspired by the trefoil mihrab, which dates back to the eighteenth century. The mosque uses the beautiful arch, which ends in a fitting groove rather than a keystone, to support the massive stone ceiling in other places. Along the north wall, on either side of the mihrab, the polylobed and cusped trefoil pattern also takes the form of a plaster arcade where the arches interlock atop protruding shafts. The two inscriptions described above are located above these arcades' cornice lines. Circular coral shafts make constitute a reduced extension of the arcade, which extends into the mihrab apse recess and is divided from an upper arcade by an additional inscription band that wraps around the interior of the mihrab.

Finely crafted coral carvings, which can be found in the niches of this higher order and probably date from the twelfth century and served as the model for later uses of the trefoil, are present there. Each foliated niche is made of a single, two-centimeter-thick coral panel that is thin. Cable-patterned mouldings are scattered throughout the top order carving. The exquisite carving in the coral hints that these components were from the mosque built in the eleventh century.

Description

The mosque was erected by Sheikh Said bin Abi Amran Mfaume al Hassan bin Muhammad in the month of Dhul Kaadi in the year 500 (AH), according to the floriated kufic inscriptions to the left of the mihrab. One further inscription, however, to the right of the mihrab, records a significant restoration in 1184 AH or 1772–1773 AD. As a result, the mosque's main structural components date from the eighteenth century, however later expansions and certain pieces from the eleventh century were incorporated during the rebuilding.

Around the mosque are a number of pillar-decorated seventeenth-century tombs, one of which commemorates Sheikh Ali bin Omar, a man with one arm and one leg. Nowadays, prayer flags are frequently fastened to the graves.