Door of the Sidi Okba Ibn Nafaâ mosque
Door of the Sidi Okba Ibn Nafaâ mosque – Biskra
On the very spot where Sidi Okba Ibn Nafaâ fell in heroic combat, around the year 683 of the Christian era, a mosque was erected whose archaic decor is part of the very old Berber tradition.
Some 350 years after the burial of the Muslim hero, his mausoleum must have received remarkable enrichments, notably its beautiful cedar wood entrance door.
The two leaves that compose it are reinforced by three sculpted crosspieces and enhanced with rows of copper-headed nails. The frame of this door as well as the pediment which crowns it are sculpted with superimposed and varied motifs whose style is linked to Fatimid art.
It is the oldest specimen of woodwork that could be inventoried in Algeria.
On the very spot where Sidi Okba Ibn Nafaâ fell in heroic combat, around the year 683 of the Christian era, a mosque was erected whose archaic decor is part of the very old Berber tradition.
Some 350 years after the burial of the Muslim hero, his mausoleum must have received remarkable enrichments, notably its beautiful cedar wood entrance door.
The two leaves that compose it are reinforced by three sculpted crosspieces and enhanced with rows of copper-headed nails. The frame of this door as well as the pediment which crowns it are sculpted with superimposed and varied motifs whose style is linked to Fatimid art.
It is the oldest specimen of woodwork that could be inventoried in Algeria.