Enlarge image
The prayer room of the “Great Mosque” in Algiers
Photo: Farouk Batiche/dpa
Construction of the Great Mosque in Algeria's capital Algiers has been completed for several years.
Now the church has been ceremoniously inaugurated after years of delay.
The mosque will be open to the public just in time for the fasting month of Ramadan, which begins in a few weeks.
In addition to the spacious prayer room, the mosque has its own helicopter landing pad and a library with more than a million books.
According to the Algerian news agency APS, the mosque's minaret is 265 meters high, making it the tallest minaret in the world.
According to the presidential palace on Sunday evening, it is the third largest mosque in the world, after the two prayer houses in Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia.
It is also the largest mosque in Africa.
There are different reports about how many believers it can accommodate.
Arabic and English-language media report a prayer room for up to 120,000 people, and the Algiers tourist information office also mentions this number.
However, on the website of the Frankfurt architectural firm KSP Engel, which was responsible for the construction, it is stated that the prayer room offers space for up to 35,000 people.
The former President of Algeria, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, commissioned the construction - the mosque was considered his greatest prestige object.
The foundation stone was laid in 2011 and, according to the architectural firm, the mosque was completed in 2020. Since then, however, the church has only been open to tourists and state guests, as the official opening was repeatedly postponed in the wake of mass protests against the government.
The construction of the mosque has caused controversy in Algeria since its planning.
Many people wanted more hospitals or living space instead of a costly prestige project - in the end the construction cost the equivalent of around 827 million euros.
The corruption allegations against the previous government also angered citizens.
zob/dpa/AP