Historical Background
Mosquée Ibn Saadoun (also spelled Ben Saadoun or Ibn Saadoun Ben Mohamed Ben Baba Ali) was built in the late 16th century (late 9th–early 10th century of the Hijri calendar), during Ottoman rule in Blida
It was named after its founder, Sheikh Ibn Saadoun, who commissioned the mosque as an enduring gift, following an anecdotal story about offering his wife a legacy of charitable benefit.
🕌 Architectural Features
- The mosque covers approximately 258 m² and can accommodate up to 800 worshippers reddit.com+8poste.dz+8algerie360.com+8.
- Its prayer hall is structured with four aisles divided by five rows of columns, topped with capitals reminiscent of the architectural elements found in the Kalaa of Beni Hammad and the Grand Mosque of Constantine Tripadvisor+3poste.dz+3Tripadvisor+3.
- The minaret is square (not octagonal or round), but it is mostly hidden from view due to dense urban surroundings and nearby market buildings poste.dz.
- Decoration is minimal and restrained, except for the façade of the minaret, which includes some original Maghrebi motifs in a modest Moorish style poste.dzalgerie360.com.
🌆 Urban & Cultural Context
Blida’s urban core reflects an architectural legacy of successive waves of Andalusian refugee influence, Ottoman urban planning, and French colonial overlays; Ibn Saadoun Mosque stands as an emblem of the Ottoman-era city nucleus
Located in Blida’s old city, near Rue Abdellah and close to other historic religious sites such as Mosquée El Hanafi and the former synagogue of Blida Near Place+9Mapcarta+9Mapcarta+9.
Both Ibn Saadoun and El Hanafi mosques are listed among the ancient mosques awaiting official heritage classification under regional and national conservation plans Wikipedia+10algerie360.com+10algerie-dz.com+10.