According to UNESCO, which Ethiopian city is considered 'the fourth holy city' of Islam with 82 mosques, three of which date from the 10th century, and 102 shrines?
"Its role can be compared to that of the University of Paris in the Middle Ages. With the decline of the city, the centre of intellectual thought moved to the University of Ez-Zitouna The old town of Harar is home to 110 mosques and many more shrines. This is a famous mosque in Alexandria, Egypt, which is dedicated to the Alexandrine Sufi saint el-Mursi Abul Abbas. This is the holy city of Mouridism and the burial place of its founder, Shaikh Aamadu Bàmba Mbàkke. Next to his tomb lies a large mosque, completed in 1963. Many Sufi Saints lived in"
"Sidi-Uqba (Uqba ibn nafée) also known as the Great Mosque of Kairouan. It has been said that seven pilgrimages to this mosque is considered the equivalent of one pilgrimage to Mecca. After its establishment, Kairouan became an Islamic and Qur'anic learning centre in North Africa. An article by Professor Kwesi Prah describes how during the medieval period, Kairouan was considered the fourth holiest city in Islam after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. Today, many consider the city as the fourth holiest in Islam. In memory of Sufi saints, Sufi festivals are held in the city. At the time of its greatest"
"are Sunni, and some belong to various Sufi orders. Islam first arrived in Ethiopia in 614 with the First Migration to Abyssinia. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital city, is home to about 443,821 Muslims or 16.2%. Central Statistical Agency. While Muslims can be found in almost every community, Islam is most prevalent in the Somali (98.4%), Afar (95.3%) and Oromia (47.5%) Regions. The Beta Israel, also known as the ""Falashas"" (though this term is considered derogatory), are a long-isolated group of African Jews who have lived in Ethiopia since antiquity. Their existence was not widely known to the outside world for"
"cities of the world, has more than 50 Islamic monuments which have been found after removing the vegetation that had obscured them from view for many centuries. The site has been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 under criteria (iv), ""as an outstanding example of an architectural ensemble which illustrates a significant stage in human history"", of which the Sixty Pillar Mosque (""Shat Gombuj Masjid"" in Bengali), constructed with 60 pillars and 77 domes, is the most well known. Apart from these monuments, UNESCO also includes the mausoleum of Khan Jahan, the mosques of Singar, Bibi Begni,"
"Mosque of Kairouan. It has been said that seven pilgrimages to this mosque is considered the equivalent of one pilgrimage to Mecca. After its establishment, Kairouan became an Islamic and Qur'anic learning centre in North Africa. An article by Professor Kwesi Prah describes how during the medieval period, Kairouan was considered the fourth holiest city in Islam after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. Today, many consider the city as the fourth holiest in Islam. The Sinai peninsula is associated with Aaron and Moses, who are also regarded as Prophets. In particular, numerous references to Mount Sinai exist in the Quran, where"
"areas, among both settled peoples and nomads. Numerous Ethiopian Muslims perform the pilgrimage to Mecca every year. Judaism in Ethiopia is believed to date from very ancient times. Precisely what its early history was, however, remains obscure. The now dominant Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church claims it originated from the visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon back in the 10th century BCE. This visit is mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures (I Kings 10:1), Sheba was a kingdom that stretched from Ethiopia to the south of the Yemen. Yemen is very close to Ethiopia across the Red Sea, and"
"Four Holy Cities The Four Holy Cities (, ) is the collective term in Jewish tradition applied to the cities of Jerusalem, Hebron, Safed and, later, Tiberias, the four main centers of Jewish life after the Ottoman conquest of Israel. The ""holy cities"" concept dates to the 1640s, with Tiberias joining in 1740, resulting from the creation of an association between the cities for the collection of halukka (funds for the needy). According to the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia: ""Since the sixteenth century the Holiness of Palestine, especially for burial, has been almost wholly transferred to four cities—Jerusalem, Hebron, Tiberias, and"
"Safed."" Four Holy Cities The Four Holy Cities (, ) is the collective term in Jewish tradition applied to the cities of Jerusalem, Hebron, Safed and, later, Tiberias, the four main centers of Jewish life after the Ottoman conquest of Israel. The ""holy cities"" concept dates to the 1640s, with Tiberias joining in 1740, resulting from the creation of an association between the cities for the collection of halukka (funds for the needy). According to the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia: ""Since the sixteenth century the Holiness of Palestine, especially for burial, has been almost wholly transferred to four cities—Jerusalem, Hebron, Tiberias,"
"archaeologist. The Great Mosque is included on the UNESCO World Heritage Site List, designated in 1986 as list no. 345, under Criteria: (iv)(v)(vi), which includes 103 mosques, 14 hammams and over 6,000 houses of Sana'a, all built prior to the eleventh century. Preservation of the Great Mosque, which is of exceptional religious and historical value, has been supported by UNESCO's World Heritage Institute of Training and Research-Asia and Pacific (Shanghai). Analysis of the damages suffered by the mosque over several centuries of neglect has been identified as due to floods, rains, soil subsidence, old electrical wiring and connections, ground water"
"991. Al-Zaytuna Mosque Ez-Zitouna Mosque or Ezzitouna Mosque or Mosque of El-Zituna (, literally meaning ""the Mosque of Olive"") is a major mosque in Tunis, Tunisia. The mosque is the oldest in the Capital of Tunisia and covers an area of with nine entrances. It has 160 authentic columns brought originally from the ruins of the old city of Carthage. The mosque is known to host one of the first and greatest universities in the history of Islam. Many Muslim scholars were graduated from the Al-Zaytuna for over a thousand years. From Ibn 'Arafa, one of the greatest scholars of"
"monuments are: Medina of Sfax The Sfax medina is the medina quarter of the Tunisian city of Sfax. It was built by Aghlabid prince Abu Abbass Muhammad between 849 and 851. The medina is home to about 113,000 residents, and is dominated by the Great Mosque of Sfax. On 12 February 2012, the Tunisian government submitted a demand to add it on the UNESCO World heritage list. It is considered as one of the rare medieval cities of North Africa to keep its original weft even with all the modifications of its buildings throughout the decades. It represents also the"
"of completion, located in Mohammedia in Algiers. Is the largest mosque in Algeria and Africa and the third largest mosque in the world in terms of the total area after each of Great Mosque of Mecca in Mecca and Al-Masjid an-Nabawi Mosque in Medina. Ketchaoua Mosque is a mosque in Algiers, the capital of Algeria. It is located at the foot of the Casbah, which was built during the Ottoman rule in the 17th century, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The mosque that stands on the first of the Casbah's many steep stairways, was logistically and symbolically the"
"Al-Zaytuna Mosque Ez-Zitouna Mosque or Ezzitouna Mosque or Mosque of El-Zituna (, literally meaning ""the Mosque of Olive"") is a major mosque in Tunis, Tunisia. The mosque is the oldest in the Capital of Tunisia and covers an area of with nine entrances. It has 160 authentic columns brought originally from the ruins of the old city of Carthage. The mosque is known to host one of the first and greatest universities in the history of Islam. Many Muslim scholars were graduated from the Al-Zaytuna for over a thousand years. From Ibn 'Arafa, one of the greatest scholars of Islam,"
"the nobility. Gondar is also a noted center of ecclesiastical learning of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and known for having 44 churches – for many years more than any other settlement in Ethiopia. Gondar and its surrounding countryside constitute the homeland of most Ethiopian Jews. The modern city of Gondar is popular as a tourist destination for its many picturesque ruins in Fasil Ghebbi (the Royal Enclosure), from which the emperors once reigned. The most famous buildings in the city lie in the Royal Enclosure, which include Fasilides' castle, Iyasu's palace, Dawit's Hall, a banqueting hall, stables, Empress Mentewab's"
"Holiest sites in Islam There are sites, which are mentioned or referred to in the Quran, that are considered holy to Islam. Mecca and Medina are the two holiest cities in Islam, unanimous among all sects. In the Islamic tradition, the Kaaba in Mecca is considered the holiest site, followed by the Prophet's Mosque in Medina. It was first captured in the time of Kaliph Umer by the king Slahuddin Additionally many Muslims see Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem as the third Holiest in Islam. Many different sites have been labelled as fourth Holiest, including Umayyad Mosque"
"Asmara Asmara (; ), or Asmera, is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea and the Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , 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. Asmara was founded in the 11th century CE after four separate villages unified to live together peacefully after"
"Medina of Sfax The Sfax medina is the medina quarter of the Tunisian city of Sfax. It was built by Aghlabid prince Abu Abbass Muhammad between 849 and 851. The medina is home to about 113,000 residents, and is dominated by the Great Mosque of Sfax. On 12 February 2012, the Tunisian government submitted a demand to add it on the UNESCO World heritage list. It is considered as one of the rare medieval cities of North Africa to keep its original weft even with all the modifications of its buildings throughout the decades. It represents also the best example"
"south as Adadi Maryam (15th century), about 100 km south of Addis Abeba. The most famous example of Ethiopian rock-hewn architecture are the 11 monolithic churches of Lalibela, carved out of the red volcanic tuff found around the town. Though later medieval hagiographies attribute all 11 structures to the eponymous King Lalibela (the town was called Roha and Adefa before his reign), new evidence indicates that they may have been built separately over a period of a few centuries, with only a few of the more recent churches having been built under his reign. Archaeologist and ""Ethiopisant"" David Phillipson postulates,"
"pilgrimage and devotion. Lalibela is one of the world's heritage sites registered by UNESCO. Many other churches were hewn from rock in Ethiopia, outside of Lalibela. This practice was very common in Tigray, where the outside world knew of only a few such churches until the Catholic priest Abba Tewelde Medhin Josief presented a paper to the Third International Conference of Ethiopian Studies in which he announced the existence of over 120 churches, 90 of which were still in use. Despite Dr. Josief's death soon after his presentation, research over the next few years raised the total number of these"
"majority of highland regions. After independence, Asmara again became the capital of Eritrea. 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"
"Great Mosque of Asmara The Great Mosque of Asmara (; alternately known as Al Kulafah Al Rashidan, Al Kulafah Al Rashidin, Al Kuaka Al Rashidin or Al Khulafa Al Rashiudin; , ""Mosque of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs"") is a mosque located in the center of Asmara, the capital city of Eritrea. 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. Designed by Guido Ferrazza, it was built in 1938 on the initiative of Benito Mussolini, to impress the Muslim population, who make"
"Holy Trinity Cathedral (Addis Ababa) Holy Trinity Cathedral, known in Amharic as Kidist Selassie, is the highest ranking Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo cathedral in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It was built to commemorate Ethiopia's liberation from Italian occupation and is the second most important place of worship in Ethiopia, after the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Axum. The cathedral bears the title 'Menbere Tsebaot', or 'Pure Altar'. The church compound is the burial place for those who fought against the Italian Occupation, or those who accompanied the Emperor into exile from 1936 to 1941. Emperor Haile Selassie I and"
"numerous rivers, and the world's hottest settlement of Dallol in its north. The Ethiopian Highlands are the largest continuous mountain ranges in Africa, and the Sof Omar Caves contains the largest cave on the continent. Ethiopia also has the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa. Additionally, the sovereign state is a founding member of the UN, the Group of 24 (G-24), the Non-Aligned Movement, G-77 and the Organisation of African Unity. Its capital city Addis Ababa serves as the headquarters of the African Union, the Pan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa,"
"based in the mosque of the city that took his name. According to the imam of this mosque, this place which contains more than 300 tombs, is the 4th holy place of Islam, after Mecca, Medina and Aksa. In the early 10th century, Biskra and the entire Ziban area were conquered by the kings of Beni Hammad. Followed by the kabyla of Elathbend banished Hilal (Hilalian Arabs) who removed and confiscated the property of the inhabitants. They asked the help of the Almohads of the kingdom of Marrakech in the 12th century CE. In the 14th century AD, the Hafssid"
"especially during the northernmost region of Tigray, which was the heart of the Aksumite Empire. However, rock-hewn churches have been found as far south as Adadi Maryam (15th century), about 100 km south of Addis Abeba. The most famous example of Ethiopian rock-hewn architecture are the 11 monolithic churches of Lalibela, carved out of the red volcanic tuff found around the town. Though later medieval hagiographies attribute all 11 structures to the eponymous king Lalibela (the town was called Roha and Adefa before his reign), new evidence indicates that they may have been built separately over a period of a"
"building the famed 81-domed mosque in 1450 (locally known as the Shaat Gombuj Masjid) and several other mosques. The sites are listed under UNESCO World Heritage Sites. According to hardline or ""puritanical"" interpretations of Islam of Wahabbis, Salafis and others, it is forbidden in Islam to build building over graves. Numerous Shia and Sufi shrines were once located in Saudi Arabia, but were destroyed in the 1930s by Saudi Arabia's Wahabbis. Other important shrines in Central Asia, were destroyed by the Soviets in the 20th century. From March 2005 to 2010, 209 people have been killed and 560 injured in"
"in Damascus, Great Mosque of Kairouan in Kairouan, Sanctuary of Abraham in Hebron, Bukhara, Eyüp district in Istanbul, and Harar. The Hejaz is the region in the Arabian Peninsula where Mecca and Medina are located. It is thus where the Muhammad was from. Mecca is considered the holiest city in Islam, as it is home to the ""Ka‘bah"" ('Cube') and ""AL-Masjid Al-Ḥarām"" (The Sacred Mosque). Only Muslims are allowed to enter this place. The area of Mecca, which includes Mount Arafah, Mina and Muzdalifah, is important for the ""Ḥajj"" ('Pilgrimage'). As one of the Five Pillars of Islam, every adult"
"Museum, the Ethiopian Railway Museum and National Postal Museum. Notable taller architecture in Addis Ababa includes the Huda Tower, Nani Tower, Bank Misr Building, as well as the approved Angola World Trade Center Tower, Abyssinia Bank Tower, Mexico Square Tower, and the 200 million dollars AU Conference Center and Office Complex. Notable buildings include St George's Cathedral (founded in 1896 and also home to a museum), Holy Trinity Cathedral (once the largest Ethiopian Orthodox Cathedral and the location of Sylvia Pankhurst's tomb) as well as the burial place of Emperor Haile Selassie and the Imperial family, and those who fought"
"are urban inhabitants. The four largest ethnic groups reported in this Zone were the Kafficho (82.72%), the Bench (5.05%), the Amhara (3.67%), and the Oromo (3.5%); all other ethnic groups made up 5.09% of the population. Kafa is spoken as a first language by 82.49%, 4.18% speak Amharic, 5.13% Bench, and 3.43% speak Oromiffa; the remaining 4.77% spoke all other primary languages reported. 61.42% of the population said they practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, 24.84% were Protestants, 6.2% were Muslim, 5.37% practiced traditional beliefs, and 1.73% embraced Catholicism.[1] Southern Ethiopia, including Sidamo, Kaffa, Arsi and Harar is the original home of"
"the area is probably the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, from the 9th century, which was built while the capital was in Al-Qatta'i. The first mosque ever built in Egypt (and by extension, the first mosque built in Africa), the Mosque of Amr, is still in use, but has been extensively rebuilt over the centuries, and nothing remains of the original structure. In February 2017 the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation was inaugurated on a site adjacent to the mosque. It is believed that further archaeological digs could yield substantial rewards, considering that the remains of the original city are still"
"column stems and capitals were taken from ruins of earlier-period buildings, while others were produced locally. There are 414 marble, granite and porphyry columns in the mosque. Almost all were taken from the ruins of Carthage. Previously, it was forbidden to count them, on pain of blinding. The Great Mosque of Kairouan (Great Mosque of Sidi-Uqba) is considered as one of the most important monuments of Islamic civilization as well as a worldwide architectural masterpiece. Founded by Arab general Uqba Ibn Nafi in 670 CE, the present aspect of the mosque dates from the 9th century. The Great Mosque of"
"at one hour's journey to the south of the caravan camp the stone monoliths with sword symbol, which had been seen earlier by Neuville and Père Azaïs. The archeological site was designated a World Heritage Site in 1980. Ethiopia has a number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including Axum (granted World Heritage status in 1980), the rock–hewn churches of Lalibela (1978), the Semien Mountains National Park (1978), the Fasiledes Castle in Gondar (1979); the prehistoric sites of Tiya (1980), the lower Valley of the Awash River (1980), the lower Valley of the Omo (1980), the Muslim Holy city of Harar"
"the mosque are considered to be equal to those offered in Jerusalem. Hebron is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem, considered by many Muslims to be the fourth holiest city in Islam. Its Arab name, ""Al-Khalil"" meaning ""friend of God"", stems from the belief that it was the city Abraham settled in. Within the city lies the Sanctuary of Abraham, the traditional burial site of the biblical Patriarchs and Matriarchs, and the ""Ibrahimi Mosque"" built on top of the tomb to honor the prophet. Muslims believe that Muhammed visited Hebron on his nocturnal journey from"