Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Pier Street Mosque

The Masjied-ul-Aziz Mosque, better known as the Pier Street Mosque sits on a strip of land on the left hand side at the end of the Settlers Freeway. The mosque is one of the only buildings that were left standing when the rest of South End was demolished in the late 1960's / early 1970's. It was so close or this Port Elizabeth landmark also fell under the wheels of the bulldozers. The municipality of the day wanted to construct a off ramp coming from the Settlers Freeway across this piece of land and was just about to start demolition when the international community and in particular the Muslim countries stepped in and reminded them that you are not allowed to demolish a church without the consent of the congregation. Thus the mosque was spared and is still in use today.
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GPS: 33°57'58.20"S, 25°37'41.89"E

4 comments:

  1. Sure is a bright green. Glad it could be saved.

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  2. I remember the threat in the 1970s - wasn't that when they wanted to build the Baakens Valley Parkway through the city's greenbelt?!? Sounds absolutely insane now!

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  3. The cairn and granite plaque in the foreground is also a Dias Memorial. It is a pity that both the mosque and memorial is cut of from the public by the freeway. People tend to walk on the opposite side of the road, not this one...

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