Ketchaoua Mosque

The Ketchaoua Mosque (Arabic: جامع كتشاوة), also known as Djamaa Ketchaoua, is a mosque in the city of Algiers, the capital of Algeria. Completed in the 17th century, during Ottoman period, the mosque is located at the foot of the Casbah of Algiers, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is on the first of the Casbah's many steep stairways. Its construction was logistically and symbolically a cynosure of pre-colonial Algiers. The mosque is noted for its unique fusion of Moorish and Byzantine architecture. Built by Hayreddin Barbarossa as a mosque in 1020 AH (1611/1612 CE), in 1831 Muslims were evicted under French rule and the structure was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral in 1832, renamed as the Cathedral of St Philippe (French: Cathédrale Saint-Philippe), which it remained until 1962. The former mosque-church was demolished between 1845 and 1860 and a new cathedral was built. Following Algerian independence in 1962, this structure was converted back into a mosque. In spite of these transitions, the mosque has retained its original grandeur and is one of the major tourist attractions of Algiers.