Mosque/Churches of the Sudan

A series of similar buildings in the Middle Nile Region are identified by the tradition of the local population as Mosque/Churches. They were first recorded by O.G.S. Crawford in 1950 and their true origins have been a matter of debate since then, as they are both, similar in plan to and built from elements associated with, the small medieval Churches of both Makouria and Alwa regions, but also comparable to early buildings of purely Islamic provenance in the surrounding region. These buildings were visited and recorded at the inspiration of John Alexander by the author in 1985–8. In addition, a number of other medieval buildings in the region which have been identified previously as either mosques or churches were recorded for comparison. This study attempts to describe the unique nature of these individual buildings, and examines also if the cultural tradition they represent indicates anything about the changes in Medieval culture of the region in this period. The evidence for cultural continuity is balanced against their beinga unique creation of a new culture

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• Sudan Notes and Records

  Abebe Woldesenbet Aseffa•African Affairs•1926

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