Larabanga Mosque: A unique architecture

The Larabanga Mosque located in Larabanga, in the West Gonja District, is one of the oldest mosques in Africa and the oldest in Ghana built in the year 1421. While it has undergone several restoration and architectural works over the centuries, the core foundation of the building still remains intact and unchanged. The mosque also boasts of one of the oldest Qurans in the world believed by the people of Larabanga to have fallen from heaven in 1650 to the Imam at the time Yidam Barimah.

Originally, the mosque was built with mud, reed and clay materials as that was the most popular building material at the time of its construction. However, in the 70s, cement materials were applied to its outer layer to give it more support and withstand the test of time.

The renovation and restoration works of the mosque was greatly aided by the World Monuments Fund who made a significant financial contribution to it and listed it as one of the 100 most endangered heritage sites.

In terms of architecture, the Larabanga mosque is among the smallest mosques in West Africa yet one of the few with a very unique and architecture style modelled on the Egyptian Pyramid style but much more shorter and smaller than the Pyramids of Egypt and North Africa.