Gaddhafi Mosque
Gaddhafi Mosque is the largest mosque in Uganda and, perhaps, East Africa. It was built and completed in 2006 by the government of Libya under the leadership of Late President Muammar Gaddhafi, from whom it got its first name. After the construction, the Gaddhafi mosque was commissioned to the Muslim population of Uganda as a gift. The mosque is located on top of Old Kampala hill, one of the oldest hills in the history of Kampala, with the capability of accommodating 25000 followers of Allah. The structure is so massive that a tourist is able to have the scenery of all Kampala hills in a 360-degree panoramic view from its highest minaret which is 25m high.
The magnificent architectural masterpiece of a mosque stands on the original spot where the British first hoisted their flag, during the colonial era, which signified Uganda as a British Colony. The mosque houses the head offices of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council. However, the gaddhafi mosque was renamed the “the Uganda National Mosque” following the death of Colonel Gaddafi as the new Libyan administration was reluctant to rehabilitate the mosque under the old name.
On reaching Kampala city, the mosque is a one stop spot that cannot be missed by the visitors in the city. Due to its location, the mosque is spotted anywhere in Kampala miles away from it. The place is welcome to visitors that want to have an insight into this holy place of worship. The change of clothes is mandatory to visit the Mosque; female tourists are advised to wear long clothes and covering their hair with a veil. Shortage of them, no worries they are provided at the reception. The men are supposed to wear long sleeves and trousers before you attempt to embark on this tour.
The mosque has two floors; the upper floor is for special events like the celebration of the Holy month of Ramadan while the lower floor is for daily prayers. The upper floor is the largest and the best of the visit. It is also partitioned into two where the ground level is reserved for men and an upper balcony reserved for women.
The place is open every day at different time intervals that is from Monday to Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and it’s open from 9 am to 6 pm well as on Friday it is open from 9 am to 11 am. The guided visit costs 10,000 UGX and allows every visitor to tour everything including the halls, minaret and all the official rooms at the place.
Accommodation
The mosque is strategically located that is to say in the city of Kampala. A number of hotels and restaurants have been set up to provide services to the visitors at prices affordable basing on the hotels. Kampala is supplied with a lot of hotels ranging from budget to luxury hotels. The different accommodation facilities are responsible for providing security to the guests, free Wi-Fi for their clients plus other clients. The hotels, motels and restaurants near gaddhafi mosque include Sunrise hotel which is about 0.2 miles from the mosque, Tal Cottages, and other 219 hotels in Kampala. Other places to check out when visiting the Gaddafi National Mosque we have Holiday Express Hotel, Crystal Apartments, Dina Apartments, Kaazi Beach Hotel among others.
