Eight mosques in Ivory Coast receive Unesco World Heritage status

The eight small mosques are said to be characterised by protruding timbers, vertical buttresses crowned by pottery or ostrich eggs, and tapering minarets.

CAPE TOWN, July 28 (ANA) – The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) has granted World Heritage status to eight small adobe mosques in northern Ivory Coast for presenting an interpretation of an architectural style thought to have originated around the 14th century.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Unesco said that the Sudanese-style mosques present a 14th-century style that originated in the town of Djenné, then part of the Empire of Mali, which prospered from the trade in gold and salt across the Sahara to North Africa.

The eight small mosques, situated in the towns of Tengréla, Kouto, Sorobango, Samatiguila, M’Bengué, Kong and Kaouara, are characterised by protruding timbers, vertical buttresses crowned by pottery or ostrich eggs, and tapering minarets, Unesco explained.

“The mosques are the best conserved of 20 such edifices that remain in Côte d’Ivoire, where hundreds existed early last century,” wrote Unesco.

According to the BBC, the mosques’ new status means that they are considered to have universal cultural value that will grant them extra protection.

The World Heritage Committee added 13 cultural sites to Unesco’s World Heritage List on Tuesday during the extended 44th session of the World Heritage Committee held virtually, which is examining nominations from both 2020 and 2021.

The recognition of the mosques adds to the West African country’s list of sites already enjoying World Heritage status, which include Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve, Taï National Park, Comoé National Park and the historic town of Grand-Bassam.

– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher