Great Mosque of Niono
The Great Mosque of Niono is an architecturally significant mosque located in the city of Niono, in the Ségou Region of southern Mali. It is a Sudano-Sahelian architectural style building made mostly of mud brick, palm tree wood, and clay mortar.
Site description
The mosque was first constructed in 1948 by a team of bricklayers native to Djenne led by Lassiné Minta. To accommodate the growing population of Niono, it was given a few major expansions, the last of which was completed in 1973. Today, it occupies 1,800 square meters and includes a main room that spans 658 square meters and a women's prayer hall that spans two floors. It has a main minaret by the west entrance and three additional minarets on the east end along the qibla wall. The mosque has a hypostyle design with a total 68 pillars on the inside.It is perhaps the most internationally recognized site in the town of Niono, having received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1983.