The Great Mosque of Kilwa is a congregational mosque on the island of Kilwa Kisiwani, in Kilwa Masoko in Kilwa District in Lindi Region of Tanzania. It was likely founded in the tenth century, but the two major stages of construction date to the eleventh or twelfth and thirteenth century, respectively. It is one of the earliest surviving mosques on the Swahili coast and is one of the first mosques built without a courtyard.

The smaller northern prayer hall dates to the first phase of construction and was built in the 11th or 12th century. It contained a total of 16 bays, supported by nine pillars, originally carved from coral but later replaced by timber. The structure, which was entirely roofed, was perhaps one of the first mosques to have been originally built without a courtyard.

It was modified in the 13th century adding side pilasters, timber, transverse beams. In the early fourteenth century, Sultan al-Hasan ibn Sulaiman, who also built the nearby Palace of Husuni Kubwa, added a southern extension which included a great dome. In 1331, an earthquake struck and led to the collapse and destruction of the mosque. Despite the destruction that it caused, the arched roof remained protected in the east built with Claveaux. On the south-east part of the mosque, there is a large dome that may have served as the mausoleum of Sultan al-Hasan ibn Sulaiman, and it is the only dome that remained standing after the earthquake.(Source: Wikipedia)

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