Ghana’s Larabanga Mosque; Mecca of West Africa
Located in the village of Larabanga, it is the first mosque in Ghana constructed in the Sudanese architectural style.
It is also one of the oldest remaining mosques in the West Africa region and is known as the “Mecca of West Africa”.
Legend has it that a Muslim trader named Ayub had a dream in which he was ordered to build a mosque.
He did so in 1421 and after his death, he was buried next to a Baobab tree in the mosque that is still there.
Local people use the leaves and stem of this baobab tree for healing of ailments.
There is an old copy of the Quran being kept in the mosque. It was gifted to the imam of the mosque Yidan Barimah Bramah in 1650.
Built using West African adobe, the mosque has two tall towers in pyramidal shape, one for the mihrab which faces towards Mecca forming the facade on the east and the other as a minaret in the northeast corner. These are buttressed by twelve bulbous shaped structures, which are fitted with timber elements.
Since its construction in 1421, it has been repaired and renovated several times.
The World Monuments Fund (WMF), a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and protecting endangered ancient and historic sites around the world, has contributed a lot to the recent efforts to renovate the mosque.
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