Great Mosque of Granada - Granada

The Grand Mosque of Granada is an Islamic temple that opened in the city of Granada in 2003 . It is the first mosque to be built in the city since 1492 , after a 500-year hiatus.

The Mosque has a Center for Islamic Studies with a program of conferences, Arabic classes, exhibitions and courses on topics related to Islam and Islamic heritage in Spain. In addition, it has a help center for the needy and Muslims in general, as well as a library with texts and audiovisual material on Islam in Arabic, English and Spanish.

It is located on Plaça San Nicolás in the historic Albaicín district.

The Grand Mosque of Granada consists of three distinct elements: the Garden , the Prayer Hall (which is the Mosque itself), and the Center for Islamic Studies.

The garden overlooks the valley of the Darro River and Mount Sabika, on which the Alhambra rises. In the background you can see the peaks of the Sierra Nevada. The botanical species in this garden are all Mediterranean: pines, olives, pomegranates, oranges and lemons, and the two mosaic fountains are distinctly Andalusian.

The Grand Mosque is decorated with strict elements of Islamic art traditions. The mihrab , showing the direction of prayer to Mecca, is a replica of the mihrab in the Cordoba Grand Mosque. The Atlas hand-carved cedar tablets contain a verse from the Qur'an that mentions some of the divine attributes.

The different colored marble slabs are identical to those in the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. The large qibla windows are copies of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. The fountain and mosaics in the courtyard leading to the prayer hall were created by craftsmen from Fez, Morocco, who retained the same designs and techniques used in Islamic Granada 1000 years ago.

The minaret is a tower with authentic Albaicin proportions and silhouettes. The mosaic inscription in Kufic calligraphy , which can be read under the eaves, is the Islamic creed: "There is no god but Allah." Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."

Willem Vandenameele