Sudanese style mosques

Kong in Northeastern Côte d’Ivoire was once upon a time an important trade outpost when the merchants of the huge Mali empire exchanged salt and textiles from the North with slaves, gold and nuts from the South. The city became quite prosperous under the rule of Seku Quattara. Kong was for 150 years capital of the Kong empire, but as of today little has remained except the two incredibly fascinating mosques, built in Sudanese architecture style with ocher-colored clay. The small Barrola mosque and the large more photogenic mosque of Kong, also called “Missiriba”. We had the chance to visit also the interior with its small mihrab oriented towards Mekka, the prayer carpets, stairs leading to the rooftop, but also a colony of small bats lives here. On the practical side, it is best to fly to Korhogo from Abidjan and rent a private vehicle through one of the hotels there, the Olympe Tourist Complex was very helpful with a reliable driver. However, we could not go any further towards Comoé National Park as this part of the country is considered unsafe at present.