Ketchaoua Mosque

The Ketchaoua Mosque is a mosque in Algiers, the capital of Algeria. It was built during the Ottoman rule in the 17th century and is located at the foot of the Casbah, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The mosque stands on the first of the Casbah’s many steep stairways and was logistically and symbolically the cynosure of the pre-colonial city of Algiers. The mosque is noted for its unique fusion of Moorish and Byzantine architecture.The mosque was originally built in 1612. Later, in 1845, it was converted during French rule, to the Cathedral of St Philippe, which remained so until 1962. The old mosque was demolished between 1845 and 1860 and a new church was built. It was converted into a mosque in 1962. In spite of these transitions over two different religious faiths in roughly the last four centuries, the mosque has retained its original grandeur and is one of the major attractions of Algiers.