Ketchaoua Mosque
Casbah, Algeria · built 1612
The Ketchaoua Mosque, also known as Djamaa Ketchaoua, is a mosque in the city of Algiers, the capital of Algeria. Completed in the 17th century, during Ottoman period, the mosque is located at the foot of the Casbah of Algiers, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is on the first of the Casbah's many steep stairways. Its construction was logistically and symbolically a cynosure of pre-colonial Algiers. The mosque is noted for its unique fusion of Moorish and Byzantine architecture. Built by Hayreddin Barbarossa as a mosque in 1020 AH (1611/1612 CE), in 1831 Muslims were evicted under French rule and the structure was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral in 1832, renamed as the Cathedral of St Philippe (French: Cathédrale Saint-Philippe), which it remained until 1962. The former mosque-church was demolished between 1845 and 1860 and a new cathedral was built. Following Algerian independence in 1962, this structure was converted back into a mosque. In spite of these transitions, the mosque has retained its original grandeur and is one of the major tourist attractions of Algiers.
Mosque data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).