Only six historic Sudano-Sahelian mud mosques remain in Ghana today. Here I look at historic images of the now extinct monuments and some of the ruins of those still barely standing.
Ghana’s Historic Mosques: Larabanga
The history of Ghana’s most famous mud mosque is shrouded in mystery and myth. Not only is the Larabanga mosque a popular architectural monument in West Africa but a revered spiritual site.
Ghana’s Historic Mosques: Banda Nkwanta
A historic Sudano-Sahelian mud mosque stands tall at a heavily trafficked junction in Banda Nkwanta in Ghana’s Northern Region.
Ghana’s Historic Mosques: Wuriyanga
Ghana’s only Sudano-Sahelian historic mud mosque in the Djenne style lies in the small Mossi village of Wuriyanga in the Upper East Region near Garu. Probably over a century old, it is still in active use today and well-maintained by the local community.
Ghana’s Historic Mosques: Maluwe
Maluwe is a small village in northwestern Ghana that has one of the nation’s remaining six mud mosques. Its mosque may be the youngest with oral tradition placing its construction in the 1940s. The building’s structure has been modified significantly in recent decades.
Ghana’s Historic Mosques: Bole
The historic mosque of Bole, Ghana is an early 20th century mud building in the Sudano-Sahelian architectural style. It features two short towers along with the classic buttresses and exterior wood scaffolding design. Only five other mosques like it are still in use in northern Ghana.
Ghana’s Historic Mosques: Nakore
Nakore has the only remaining Sudano-Sahelian style mud mosque in Ghana’s Upper West Region. It is well maintained by the local community and can be visited just outside of Wa for a fee of 10 cedis.