I’ve always wondered what mosques look like on the inside. I mean from afar they all looked the same but I was just so curious about what it would be like to go in.
When I first started unravelling, I had a conversation with my dad on if it would be odd to walk into mosques here in Nigeria, take pictures and write about them. After all, there are pictures of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi splashed all over the internet by people of all faith who have visited. The general consensus was that it may not work here so I settled for just doing a post on fun facts on the Abuja National Mosque.
3 years later, I finally got a chance to visit not just any mosque but the Abuja National Mosque and I was pretty excited. Thank you Travelstart Nigeria.
Even though it is said that this mosque is open to the general public except during congregational prayers, we were still concerned that we might not get in. However, after a conversation with the guard and ensuring that the ladies were well dressed, we were good to go.
Located on Independence avenue right across from the National Christian Center, this is the national mosque of the country and construction was completed in 1984.
The mosque has 2 domes and 4 minarets and although our tour was just of the grounds, I was able to gather that the mosque contains a conference centre that can hold five hundred people, an office for the Islamic centre and residential facilities for the imam and muezzin.
The 4 minarets and 2 domes
I loved the gold themes of the mosque and I thought everything was just so grand. Even though we couldn’t go inside the main mosque (ie the prayer rooms), I can imagine that it’s equally as grand.
I was satisfied with taking pictures in the compound especially because I had never seen pictures of these parts online. Everyone we met was courteous and no one found it odd that we were wandering around. The guard who took us round did his best to take us to places he felt we might be interested in that wasn’t restricted.
I might never visit the Sheikh Zayed mosque, but this works for me.
Have you ever visited the Abuja National Mosque? If yes were you able to get into the inner rooms and what did they look like?
Disclaimer: This trip was sponsored by Travelstart Nigeria. Transfers, meals and experiences were organised by them. However, all views and opinions remain ours.
*Reviews are based on opinions and personal experiences, and may differ from person to person
*A muezzin is the person appointed at a mosque to lead and recite the call to prayer for every event of prayer and worship in the mosque.