Baiturrahman Grand Mosque, Grand mosque in Banda Aceh, Indonesia
Baiturrahman Grand Mosque is a large house of prayer in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, carrying multiple black domes above white walls. Tall slender minarets frame the complex, while marble floors from Carrara quarries in Italy line the prayer halls.
The first house of prayer on this site arose during Sultan Iskandar Muda's rule in the early 17th century. War and fires destroyed the complex multiple times, leading to several expansions over the centuries, with the most recent major addition completed in the 1980s.
The mosque serves as the primary religious center in Banda Aceh, hosting major Islamic celebrations and daily prayers for the local community.
Visitors should keep shoulders and knees covered and may need to wear provided robes if the dress code requires it. The complex opens early morning and closes in the evening, with prayer times being the busiest moments.
The building remained almost undamaged after the 2004 tsunami, while surrounding neighborhoods were heavily affected. Today many visitors also come because of this survival story, which continues to live in local narratives about the flood.
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