GREAT MOSQUE, DJENNEDjenne is also the site of one of
the most ambitious examples of adobe architecture in the world, the
city’s Great Mosque (FIG. 15-8), first built in the 13th century and
reconstructed in 1906–1907 after a fire destroyed the earlier building
in 1830. The mosque has a large courtyard and a roofed prayer hall,
emulating the plan of many of the oldest mosques known (see “The
Mosque,” Chapter 13, page 345). The facade (FIG. 15-1), however,
is unlike any in the Middle East and features soaring adobe towers
and vertical buttresses resembling engaged columns that produce a
majestic rhythm. The many rows of protruding wooden beams fur-
ther enliven the walls but also serve a practical function as perches
for workers undertaking the essential recoating of sacred clay on the
exterior that occurs during an annual festival.
BETA GIORGHIS, LALIBELA Many of the early African
cultures maintained trade networks that sometimes extended well
beyond the continent. The exchange of goods also brought an ex-
change of artistic ideas and forms. One of the most striking examples
is found at Lalibela in the rugged highlands of present-day Ethiopia,
where land travel is difficult. Christianity arrived in Ethiopia in the
early fourth century, when the region was part of the indigenous Ak-
sum Empire. In the early 13th century, Lalibela, a ruler of the Zagwe
dynasty, commissioned 11 churches to be cut from the bedrock at his
capital, which still bears his name.
Not the largest but in many ways the most interesting of these
rock-cut churches is Beta Giorghis (FIG. 15-9), the Church of Saint
George, which was cut out of the tufa in the form of a Greek cross,
revealing that the architect was familiar with contemporary Byzan-
tine architecture (see Chapter 12). The roof of the structure has a
Greek cross sculpted in relief, underscoring the sacred shape of the
church. Inside are a carved dome and frescoes. Rock-cut buildings
are rare worldwide, but they are documented in Egypt, India, and
Jordan (see Chapters 3, 6, and 10). Some of the most complex de-
signs are at Lalibela. Carving from the bedrock a complex building
such as Beta Giorghis, with all its details, required careful planning
15-9Beta Giorghis (Church of Saint George), Lalibela, Ethiopia,
13th century.
During the 13th century, the Christian kingdom of Lalibela cut many
churches out of the Ethiopian bedrock. This one emulates Byzantine
models and has a Greek-cross plan and interior frescoes.400 Chapter 15 AFRICA BEFORE 1800
15-8Aerial view (looking northwest) of the Great Mosque, Djenne, Mali, begun 13th century, rebuilt 1906–1907.
The Great Mosque at Djenne resembles Middle Eastern mosques in plan (large courtyard next to a roofed prayer hall), but the construction
materials—adobe and wood—are distinctly African.
and highly skilled labor. The bedrock tufa is soft and easily worked,
but the designer had to visualize all aspects of the complete structure
before the work began because there was no possibility of revision or
correction.