Ali Bitchin Mosque

Ali Bitchin Mosque

mosque

Part of	Casbah of Algiers
Country	Algeria
Edey de administrative territorial entity insyd	Casbah of Algiers, Algiers Province
Coordinate location	36°47′13″N 3°3′43″E
Heritage designation	part of UNESCO World Heritage Site

Ali Bitchin Mosque (Arabic: مسجد علي بتشين) anaa Zawj Euyun Mosque (Arabic: جامع زوج عيون) be a historic mosque insyd Algiers, Algeria. Na Ali Bitchin order de construction of de mosque insyd 1622. Ebe situated insyd de UNESCO World Heritage Site Casbah of Algiers. E dey locate for de crosspoint between de Bab al-Wadi Street den de lower area of casbah.

History

Interior of Ali Bitchin Mosque (Algiers)

Na dem reportedly claim Ali Bitchin a man of non-Islamic origin wey na ein name be Piccini anaa Puccini anaa Piccinino. Na Ali Bitchin lead de Algerian Navy fleet during 1630-1646. Insyd 1599 na he convert to Islam thru Fathullah Khoja wey na he own de vessels, wey he choose de name Ali Bitchin. Na he then order de construction of mosque insyd 1622, insyd de Ottoman architectural form. Na ebe equip plus a minaret wich na be 15 meters high wey e resemble Maghrebi style.

For de early days, na de mosque get an area size of 500 square meters wey e consist of three floors, three rooms, ten shops, a bakery, a hamam, a mill den an inn. Na de inn be used by chaw high ranking politicians den religious leaders. Na ein hamam be especially popular wey e remain active til two years after na de French occupation begin. Na de mosque dey locate insyd de commercial area of de casbah, wey dey make chaw shops wey dey work around de mosque. Insyd 1703, na dem briefly rename de mosque to "Sidi al-Mahdi Mosque", wey dey reflect de governor for de time.

During de French occupation, na dem reduce height of de minaret to 12 meters. Na de mosque then be converted to de military pharmacy center before dem turn am into de church insyd 1843. After de conversion, na sam of de characters of de Islamic architectural style be lost. De French occupiers sanso knock one of de doors of Ketchaoua Mosque wey dem use am as a decoration of de newly converted church. Na de mosque be among de 21 oda mosques insyd de casbah wey na dem modify anaa transform dema features, for example by dem eliminate de wudu place den dey alter de mihrab. Na dem consecrate am back to de mosque after de independence, plus dem remove de Christian cross de minaret.

Architecture

Na de mosque initially be accommodatable up to 500 worshipers. After de renovation insyd 2010, e now fi accommodate additional 300 worshipers.

Notable Imams

• Mohamed Charef (1908-2011)