About 35 kilometres southeast of Biskra, the small town of Sidi Okba takes its name from the 7th-century Arab commander Uqba ibn Nafi, buried here after his death in 683 AD. The mosque built over his mausoleum is one of Algeria's oldest and most significant Islamic monuments — the first structure was built in 686, only three years after his death, and the complex has been expanded and restored many times since.
The mosque is notable for its beautifully carved cedar doors and for the intricately detailed mihrab (prayer niche), one of the finest examples of early Islamic decorative work in the Maghreb. Non-Muslim visitors are generally permitted outside prayer times, and the mausoleum chamber containing Uqba's tomb is accessible and moving in its simplicity. The palm-lined village around it is quiet and atmospheric — a sharp contrast to the bustle of Biskra city.