The small town of Jenna is considered the oldest not only in the Republic of Mali, but throughout the west of the continent. The town has not received much development. Further French colonization of Mali did not bring the benefits of civilization. The peasant way of life remained in the city. True, there was one religious building in Jenna, which surprised the natives with its appearance. It was the so-called Great Mosque, made entirely of clay.
The first mosque built in Jenna has not been preserved. According to the stories of local residents, it was destroyed by representatives of other tribes coming to these places. But this did not stop the residents - they were back to work. They made brick from clay, dried it in the sun, then folded walls from it and built their temple again.
The Malays began to build the current mosque in 1905. Construction lasted four years. As before, they made brick from clay, dried it, and then laid it on top of each other, forming walls of a meter thick. The base was made especially wide. Then everything was coated with clay putty. The main tool in this case were hands that carefully smoothed clay. That is why the walls of the mosque look like polished.
For greater wall strength and decoration, palm trunks were inserted into them. During repair work, they could be used as scaffolding.
The central eastern wall of the mosque - Qibla - with three towers is directed to the East, to Mecca. The mosque itself stands on a three-meter bulk earth site, towering above the market square. A stone staircase leads to the main entrance.
The roof above the prayer hall is made of palm tree trunks and covered with clay, it is supported by 9 internal partitions. Light comes into the prayer room from the windows - they are small and in disarray. The floor is earthen. Conical spiers-columns, they are minarets, decorated with ostrich eggs.
The great mosque in Jenna has been preserved as it was built in 1909. True, she appeared loudspeakers - this is the only innovation of civilization, which the Malian people risked to establish. There is no electricity in the mosque.
