AL Khulafa Al Rashidin Mosque of Asmara,Eritrea
The Great Mosque of Asmara (Italian: Grande Moschea di Asmara; alternately known as Al Kulafah Al Rashidan, Al Kulafah Al Rashidin, Al Kuaka Al Rashidin or Al Khulafa Al Rashiudin; Arabic: جَـامِـع الْـخُـلَـفَـاء الـرَّاشِـدِيْـن, translit. Jāmi‘ al-Khulafā’ ar-Rāshidīn, Mosque of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs) is a mosque located in the center of Asmara, the capital city of Eritrea.[1] It is considered to be one of the three prominent edifices of the city, along with Church of Our Lady of the Rosary and Enda Mariam Coptic Cathedral.[2] Designed by Guido Ferrazza, it was built in 1938 on the initiative of Benito Mussolini, to impress the Muslim population, who make up about 50% of the locality.[3][4] The Arabic phrase al-Khulafā’ ar-Rāshidīn can mean followers of the right path.[4]
The mosque was designed by Guido Ferrazza, in a blend of the architectural styles of Rationalist, Classical, and Islamic.[5][6] The minaret at its end, fluted and of Roman design, is visible from all parts of the city. It has two platforms and two balconies of the Italian rococo or late baroque style. Below the minaret, the mosque's fascia has a neoclassical loggia (exterior galleries), which is split in three parts. The building's double columns are made from Dekemhare travertine and are fitted with capitals made of Carrara marble.[7] Other features include Islamic domes and arches. The mosque's miḥrāb (Arabic: مِـحْـرَاب, a niche which faces the direction of Mecca) is made of Carrara marble.[8] Additional marble from the same quarry is used in other areas of this mosque.[5] The front open yard of the mosque is covered with black stone slabs set in geometrical design.
The great Mosque of Asmara,Eritrea Al Kulafah Al Rashidin
The Great Mosque of Asmara (Italian: Grande Moschea di Asmara; alternately known as Al Kulafah Al Rashidan, Al Kulafah Al Rashidin, Al Kuaka Al Rashidin or Al Khulafa Al Rashiudin; Arabic: جَـامِـع الْـخُـلَـفَـاء الـرَّاشِـدِيْـن, translit. Jāmi‘ al-Khulafā’ ar-Rāshidīn, Mosque of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs) is a mosque located in the center of Asmara, the capital city of Eritrea.[1] It is considered to be one of the three prominent edifices of the city, along with Church of Our Lady of the Rosary and Enda Mariam Coptic Cathedral.[2] Designed by Guido Ferrazza, it was built in 1938 on the initiative of Benito Mussolini, to impress the Muslim population, who make up about 50% of the locality.[3][4] The Arabic phrase al-Khulafā’ ar-Rāshidīn can mean followers of the right path.[4]
The mosque was designed by Guido Ferrazza, in a blend of the architectural styles of Rationalist, Classical, and Islamic.[5][6] The minaret at its end, fluted and of Roman design, is visible from all parts of the city. It has two platforms and two balconies of the Italian rococo or late baroque style. Below the minaret, the mosque's fascia has a neoclassical loggia (exterior galleries), which is split in three parts. The building's double columns are made from Dekemhare travertine and are fitted with capitals made of Carrara marble.[7] Other features include Islamic domes and arches. The mosque's miḥrāb (Arabic: مِـحْـرَاب, a niche which faces the direction of Mecca) is made of Carrara marble.[8] Additional marble from the same quarry is used in other areas of this mosque.[5] The front open yard of the mosque is covered with black stone slabs set in geometrical design.[2]
Religious sites of Asmara
Including: Catolic Cathedral, Nda Mariam Coptic Cathedral (St. Mary's), Kidane Meheret Church, Al Khulafa Al Rashiudin Mosque and many more...
The town of Asmara,Eritrea
Asmara (/ˈæsˈmɑːrə/ əs-MAHR-ə; Tigrinya: አስመራ; Arabic: أسمرة), or Asmera, is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea and the Central Region. It sits at an elevation of 2,325 metres (7,628 ft), making it the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude. The city is located at the tip of an escarpment that is both the northwestern edge of the Eritrean highlands and the Great Rift Valley in neighbouring Ethiopia. In 2017, the city was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its well-preserved modernist architecture.[3][4] Asmara was first settled in 800 BC with a population ranging from 100 to 1000. The city was then founded in the 12th century CE after four separate villages unified to live together peacefully after long periods of conflict.[5] Originally, according to Eritrean Tigrinya oral traditional history, there were four clans living in the Asmara area on the Kebessa Plateau: the Gheza Gurtom, the Gheza Shelele, the Gheza Serenser and Gheza Asmae. These towns were frequently attacked by clans from the low land and from the rulers of seger mereb melash (which now is a Tigray region in Ethiopia), until the women of each clan decided that to defeat their common enemy and preserve peace the four clans must unite. The men accepted, hence the name Arbate Asmera. Arbate Asmara literally means, in the Tigrinya language, the four (feminine plural) made them unite.[6] Eventually Arbate was dropped and it has been called Asmara which means they [feminine, thus referring to the women] made them unite. There is still a district called Arbaete Asmara in the Administrations of Asmara. It is now called the Italianized version of the word Asmara. The westernized version of the name is used by a majority of non-Eritreans, while the multilingual inhabitants of Eritrea and neighboring peoples remain loyal to the original pronunciation, Asmera.
The missionary Remedius Prutky passed through Asmara in 1751, and described in his memoirs that a church built there by Jesuit priests 130 years before was still intact.[7]
Four big landmarks of the city are the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary and the Kidane Mehret Cathedral of the Catholic faith, the Enda Mariam Cathedral of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the Al Khulafa Al Rashiudin Mosque of the Islamic faith. Christians and Muslims have lived peacefully together in Asmara for centuries. The religious majority in Asmara are Orthodox Christians. The population in the Central Region is 89 percent Christian (almost 84 percent Orthodox, 4 percent Roman Catholic, and more than 1 percent Protestant) and 5 percent Muslim.[16]
Asmara is divided into 13 districts or administrative areas. These districts are subdivided into North, North-West, North-East, South-East, South-West, East, West and Central areas. The thirteen districts (or Neous Zobas) are:
North
Acria District
Abbashaul District
Edaga Hamus District
North-East
Arbaete Asmara District
North-West
Mai Temenai District
Paradiso District
South-West
Sembel District
South-East
Kahawuta District
Godaif District
Central
Maakel Ketema District
West
Gheza Banda District
Tsetserat District
East
Tiravolo District
Gejeret District
TOP TEN TOURIST ATTRACTIONS:
1. GODENA HARNET
2. EXPO ASMARA
3.ENDA MARIAM COPTIC CATHEDREL
4. ASMARA PALACE(HOTEL&SWIMMING POOL)
5.Al Khulafah Al Rashidin Mosque
6. Sportclub of Asmara (Basketball&Billiard)
7. Diana bar (American Bar)
8. Zara Bar
9. Enda Selassie church
10. Kidane Mehret church of Asmara