Mosque Name:
Country: Eritrea
City: Massawa
Year of construction (CE): 600-699
GPS: 15.611981 39.480632
ArchNet:
Gibson Classification: Petra (Jerusalem is very close as well)
Rebuilt facing Mecca: Never
For a Link to the Qibla Tool Click Here
Description:
The Mosque of the Companions (Masjid aṣ-Ṣaḥābah) is a small mosque in the port city of Massawa, Eritrea. Dating to the early 7th century CE, it is believed to be the first mosque on the African continent. It was reportedly built by companions of the Prophet Muhammad who came to Abyssinia ([](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_language “Arabic language”)الهجرة إلى الحبشة, al-hijra ʾilā al-habaša), also known as the First Hegira ([](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_language “Arabic language”)هِجْرَة hijrah). While this mosque is in Eritrea it was part of Abyssinia at the time. They were fleeing persecution to the followers of Muhammad by people in the Holy City. The current structure is of later construction as some features, like mihrab (89 AH/708 AD), did not develop until later in Islamic architecture. So this is probably a mosque built as a memorial for what happened at this spot.
This area is remembered as the place where the Muslims gathered after landing their ships.
There is a large open area in front of this structure for large crowds to gather.
The front of the mosque contains only a mihrab, and a minbar (preaching platform) Notice that the Mihrab curves slightly to the right and not square with the back side of the open area.
The back of the mihrab.
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More can be learned from the Madain Project. https://madainproject.com/assahaba_mosque(massawa)
Below is a video of a visit to Massawa. Thank you to Yohannes B. Araya for alerting us about this.
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