Algiers [Algeria], February 26 : Amid the political upheavals, Algeria finally inaugurated the continent's largest mosque and the third-largest in the world ahead of the holy month of Ramzan, reported Al Jazeera.
The Grand Mosque of Algiers, located on the country's Mediterranean coast, was formally opened on Monday by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
Locally referred to as the Djamaa El-Djazair, it has the highest minaret in the world, standing at 265 meters (869 feet), can hold 120,000 people, and is the largest mosque in the world, second only to the holiest places in Islam, Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia, according to Al Jazeera.
It was constructed over the course of seven years as a modernist building that covers 27.75 hectares (almost 70 acres) and is embellished with marble and wood accents as well as North African and Arab motifs.
The mosque is said to have a library that can hold up to a million books and a helicopter landing pad.
Since the mosque officially opened on March 10, it has been able to organise numerous public prayers and festivities during Ramzan. It has been open to foreign tourists and state visitors to Algeria for almost five years, although the majority of the inauguration event was ceremonial, Al Jazeera reported.
It opened for prayers in October 2020 without Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the President of Algeria, as he was suffering with COVID-19.
The project has experienced numerous years of delays and overspending. It has also drawn criticism for supposedly being constructed in a seismically unstable area, a claim that the government disputes.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor