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Kizimkazi Dimbani Mosque

Kizimkazi Dimbani Mosque

Photo: O.Mustafin · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Location
Dimbani, Zanzibar, Tanzania
Client / Owner
—
Year
Completed 1107
Access
Public
Typology
Spiritual
Style
Islamic

The Kizimkazi Dimbani Mosque stands in Dimbani at the southern tip of Zanzibar island. Despite the name, it is not in Kizimkazi itself, which lies about 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) away. A preserved Kufic inscription dates it to 1107, and the article calls it one of the oldest Islamic buildings on the East African coast. Most of the current structure was rebuilt in the eighteenth century.

It is built of coral rag, and some coral-carved decorative elements date from the original construction. The style is Swahili and Islamic. The site has a prayer hall, a cemetery with pillar tombs, and Swahili-style roofing.

The Tanzanian government owns the mosque, and the Antiquities Division of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism administers it. It is still an active mosque.

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