Grande Mosque of Porto Novo, Porto Novo, Benin
One of the important buildings of this period is the Great Mosque of Porto-Novo. Build in 1923 to 1925 by the African-Brazilian community it is a good example of the high quality of craftsmanship at this time and a precious one, as unfortunately its twin in Lagos, Nigeria, had been destroyed around 1980.
The town of Porto-Novo has recently declared it a historic monument and the building is still used for the daily sermons, but the surrounding community has unfortunately lost interest in the building. As M Tognimassou acknowledged, even if there would be the will to renovate the building it would be a long and laborious task as a lot of the knowledge in woodwork, plastering and decoration has been lost.
Epic Benin Culture & Adventure Route © Monika Newbound
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