It Built in 1421 by an Islamic trader named Ayuba after a visionary dream, Larabanga Mosque is considered the oldest mosque in Ghana and one of West Africa’s earliest Islamic sites.

Constructed in Sudano‑Sahelian style, the mosque measures roughly 8 × 8 meters, with two pyramidal towers (mihrab and minaret) supported by twelve conical buttresses and timber beams.

Locally revered as the “Mecca of West Africa”, it also houses an ancient Qur’an believed to have descended miraculously in 1650 to Imam Yidan Barimah Bramah.

A famous baobab tree beside the entrance marks the grave of founder Ayuba. It is reputed to have healing leaves, tied to the mosque’s spiritual legacy.

During the 1970s, damage occurred from applying cement plaster, trapping moisture and weakening the adobe walls. This led to termite infestation and the collapse of the minaret in 2002.

A collaborative restoration led by the Ghana Museums & Monuments Board, CRAterre, and World Monuments Fund restored the mosque using traditional mud-building techniques, reviving ancestral maintenance knowledge.

It was added to the WMF’s 100 Most Endangered Sites and now stands as a community-maintained heritage monument.

The mosque’s whitewashed mud structure and timber-reinforced buttresses reflect an adaptation to Ghana’s rainy climate encouraging rapid runoff to protect the adobe walls.

Every year, local masons perform a traditional annual re‑plastering ceremony (crepissage) using mud and prayers, reinforcing both structure and spiritual identity

Larabanga Mosque is an architectural gem and spiritual center, bridging centuries of cultural heritage.

Restoration efforts have preserved its beauty without sacrificing authenticity.

The mosque fosters community empowerment, earning tourism revenue and fostering craftsmanship.

A visit to Larabanga offers more than historical insight; it connects you with living Islamic tradition in West Africa.