IRNA - Handwoven Persian carpets covering an area of 12,000 square meters will decorate the Grand Mosque of Algiers (world's third largest mosque, also known Djamaa El Djazair mosque, to be completed in Algeria) an Algerian businessman said.


He said that the new mosque is a tremendous cultural and architectural project and should be decorated with invaluable artworks, IRNA wrote.

Once the building of the mosque is ready, the carpets will be transferred to the great Algerian mosque, the businessman said.

Algeria's Minister of Religious Affairs and Endowments Mohamed Aissa said that his ministry received the first batch of the carpets, made up of 539 pieces at the end of 2014, in a contractual framework with the Waqfs or Endowments Foundation.

The carpets were purchased by an Algerian businessman with a price tag of �6 million from Iranian cities of Naeen and Kashan.

The businessman said that Persian carpets are unique, no one except the Iranians are able to weave carpets such beautifully.

He added that Persian carpets are long-lasting and the passage of time will add to their value and even after 50 years their value would be triple and after 100 years their value would be tenfold.

These carpets would be a wise investment for this mosque and if the mosque organizers want to replace them with new products after 50 years, they can afford it by selling such valuable carpets.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has donated Iranian-made carpets to the Grand Mosque of Algiers, said Abdelkader Yacine, head of the Union of Algerian Zaouias or religious schools.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika launched the construction of this mosque in 2012, and leading Algerian figures would participate in the opening ceremony in which the Persian carpets would add to the beauty and grandeur of the site.

The mosque will also have a 265-meter-high minaret (874 feet), the world's tallest, as well as a 20,000-square-meter prayer hall which can accommodate up to 120,000 worshippers.