GRAND MOSQUE OF PEACE

In the district of Dioulakro is the elegant Great Mosque of Peace. A real little marvel of unicoloured sobriety. With its square minarets, it is adorned with latticework, which gives its cladding the appearance of lace paper, but also with semicircular arches over the entrance doors. The tiles for the mosaics that can be found inside were imported from Morocco, while the ironwork for the heavy doors was imported from France. The project for the construction of this building dates back to 1963. At that time, Houphouët-Boigny asked a certain Balla Camara, a mason by training, to build the great mosque of Yamoussoukro, located opposite the basilica, just across the lake. Not feeling the need to take on such a responsibility, the latter initially refused, claiming that he did not have the required skills. For this reason, "the Old Man" sent him to Senegal for several months to complete his training in religious art masonry and begin construction. Work on the mosque was completed in 1968. Until 1970, Houphouët attended the prayers of Tabaski and Aïd during Ramadan in this mosque (the two main Muslim religious holidays). He never ceases thereafter to make it visit the Muslim heads of state on official visits, to show the diversity and religious balance of his country and the city. At the back of the mosque's courtyard is the tomb of the builder Balla Camara, known as "El Hadj Balla", who went to Mecca before his death ("el Hadj"). As Houphouët was known for the generosity he showed to achieve his goals, various rumors circulate about this place of worship. Each contractor who participated in the construction of the building was offered a building plot as a gift, while, to encourage the practitioners to go there more often, the "Old Man" would have distributed envelopes to the faithful one morning, instructing them to spread the good word to encourage their comrades to go to prayer. Fiction or reality...

Visit. Alone, there is a good chance that you won't be able to enter, but as long as a skilful guide accompanies you and/or arranges a guided tour with the mosque guard, it can be arranged... Obligation to take off your shoes and, for women, to wear a veil covering your head and shoulders.