With nearly two billion followers, Islam originated in Arabia and spread throughout the world, becoming the world’s second-largest religion after Christianity.
I like mosques. They are usually airconditioned and nice places to lie down and have a nap. Every mosque has ablution baths to wash your feet, particularly handy if you wear flip-flops 100% of the time. They always have a toilet, unlike Christian churches which never have a toilet. The architecture is usually stunning.
THE FIVE HOLIEST SITES in ISLAM
1. MECCA, Saudi Arabia
Of course, Mecca tops the list. This most holy city was the birthplace of Muhammad, around A.D. 570, but it was sacred even before he came along. Adam and Abraham, potent figures from the Abrahamic traditions, have strong links to the city. Abraham’s life, in particular, was a series of trials of his faith in God, and these inspired some of the ceremonies that Muslims performed during the hajj (pilgrimage), such as sacrificing an animal and sharing the meat with the poor.
The city’s centrepiece is an ancient granite cube, the Kaaba, standing within the Holy Mosque (Masjid al-Haram) and covered by the kiswa, a black cloth woven with verses from the Quran. Muslims across the globe bow in prayer toward the Kaaba five times daily, a ritual set by Muhammad in 624.
Muslims with the means and ability are expected to visit Mecca once in a lifetime for the hajj, known as the fifth pillar of Islam. They begin and end the hajj by walking around the Kaaba seven times..
2. MEDINA, Saudi Arabia
As the burial place of Muhammad and the city where the Prophet and his followers fled from attacks in Mecca, Medina—about 200 miles north of Mecca—is the second holiest site in Islam. Millions of Muslims visit each year to pray at the Prophet’s Mosque (Masjid an-Nabawi). Although neither a part of the hajj nor a duty for Muslims, this act is said to be worth more than a thousand prayers at any other mosque.
Most of the current mosque, a two-tiered structure with 27 domes and an open-air courtyard, dates from the 19th and 20th centuries. Muhammad, who built the original and died in 632, lies buried under the green central dome, along with the first two caliphs, Abu Bakr and Umar. Much expanded, the mosque can now hold more than a million worshippers, with more expansion plans underway. In addition, the mosque incorporates modern technology, such as retractable Teflon umbrellas, to counter the blasting summer heat.
Architecture. The modern-day Masjid an-Nabawi is two stories tall. The Ottoman prayer hall, the oldest part, has a flat paved roof topped with 27 sliding domes on square bases. Holes pierced into the base of each dome illuminate the interior when the domes are closed. The sliding roof is closed during the afternoon prayer to protect the visitors. When the domes slide out on metal tracks to shade areas of the roof, they create light wells for the prayer hall. At these times, the courtyard of the Ottoman mosque is also shaded with umbrellas affixed to freestanding columns. The paved area around the mosque is also used for prayer, equipped with umbrella tents.
Green Dome. The chamber adjacent to the Rawdah holds the tombs of Muhammad and two of his companions, fathers-in-laws, and caliphs, Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattab. It was constructed in 1817 CE.
Green Dome. The Green Dome is a green-coloured dome built above al-Masjid an-Nabawi, the tomb of the prophet Muhammad and early Muslim Caliphs, Abu Bakr and Umar. The dome is located in the southeast corner of the Mosque. The structure dates back to 1279 CE when an unpainted wooden cupola was built over the tomb. The dome was first painted green in 1837 and hence became known as the Green Dome.
3. GREAT MOSQUE of KAIROUAN, Kairouan, Tunisia
The vast courtyard of the Great Mosque of Kairouan, rimmed by galleries and a minaret.
The Great Mosque has stood at the heart of Arab-Muslim worship for more than a thousand years. A popular saying is that if you cannot go to Mecca, seven pilgrimages to Kairouan might save your soul.
Started in A.D. 670, only 38 years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, it was rebuilt and enlarged over the next century. The present structure is part of an expansive complex in this holy city and dates from the reign of the Arab-Muslim Aghlabid dynasty, which ruled in the Ifriqiyah region (present-day Tunisia and eastern Algeria) during the ninth century. With its buttressed walls and three-tiered minaret—the world’s oldest surviving minaret, festooned with battlements and arrow slits—the mosque was both fortress and spiritual center. Imams preached, men studied, and in time of siege, the populace took refuge here.
At the mosque’s center lies a dazzling white courtyard, enclosed on three sides by cloisters and columns. Exquisite marquetry covers the doors leading to the prayer room, accessible only to Muslim men. Inside is the minbar, or imam’s pulpit, thought to be the oldest surviving in the Islamic world; the mosaic-covered mihrab, a niche pointing in the direction of Mecca; and 17 naves supported by carved columns.
4. HAREM AL-SHARIF, Jerusalem, Israel
Jews and Muslims both hold sacred the flat, elevated plaza atop Mount Moriah in the heart of Old Jerusalem. Consider the holiest site in Judaism, the Temple Mount is the site of the demolished First and Second Temples that in biblical times served as a central place of worship for Israelites and Jews; only the Western Wall survives the Roman destruction of the Second Temple in 70 B.C.
After the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem in A.D. 638, the ruling caliph built the shrine of the Dome of the Rock on the Mount Moriah site, which is known to Muslims as Harem al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary). It’s a beautiful structure, adorned with faience, marble, and mosaics, and its glittering gold-leaf roof forms the city’s most striking landmark to this day. At its heart is an outcrop of jagged rock where Muslims believe Muhammad ascended to heaven.
The Muslims built other structures, fountains, and gardens that sprinkle the 35-plus-acre Noble Sanctuary compound, including the silver-domed Al Aqsa Mosque, just south of the Dome of the Rock. One of the world’s largest mosques—more than 4,000 Muslims can prostrate themselves on the floor during prayer— it features the Isra, an Islamic tale of Muhammad’s Night Journey. According to this story, Muhammad is said to have travelled from Mecca to the Al Aqsa Mosque on the back of the Buraq, a winged horse-like creature, to lead other prophets in prayer.
5. UMAYYAD MOSQUE, Damascus, Syria 
Al-Walīd I, the caliph who built the Umayyad Mosque circa A.D. 715, famously proclaimed: “People of Damascus, four things give you a marked superiority over the rest of the world: your climate, your water, your fruits, and your baths. To these I add a fifth: this mosque.”
The mosque, also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus, stands on the site of a succession of places of worship, including a Roman temple and a Christian church. It centers on a great central courtyard surrounded by an arcade of arches, with the prayer hall covering the southern side. Within the prayer hall, an ornate domed shrine of deep green glass is believed to contain the head of St. John the Baptist, a Jewish prophet who baptized Jesus and is known to Muslims as the prophet Yahya. This part of the mosque is sacred to both Christians and Muslims. Also contained within the mosque is a shrine believed to contain the head of Hussein ibn Ali, Muhammad’s grandson whose martyrdom is frequently compared to those of John the Baptist and Jesus.
6. SHEIKH ZAYED GRAND MOSQUE, Abu Dhabi
7. MEZQUITA, Cordoba Spain
SELIMIYE MOSQUE and its SOCIAL COMPLEX, Edirene Turkey
A World Heritage Site, this is one helluva mosque. Enter the large courtyard with red/white stone arches and 24 domes. The four minarets are very tall. The mosque is square with a gigantic dome supported by eight enormous pillars. As in all mosques, much Arabic writing and geometrics cover the inside. Four concentric metal rings of lights lie over a central tiny fountain covered by a wonderful wood canopy painted in intricate designs. The place was packed.
MOSQUES in ISTANBUL TURKEY
Suleymaniye Mosque. This was a big climb up to this grand mosque – a huge dome supported by four enormous columns.
Nuruosmaniye Complex. A tentative WHS (13/04/2016), it was built from 1749-55, the first Baroque-style mosque in Istanbul. The complex consists of a madrassa, kitchens, a library, a tomb, public fountain and some shops. The outer courtyard was a semi-circle with 12 domes, the main dome is 26m in diameter, 174 windows and 2 minarets with a crescent made of stone instead of lead.
Sultan Ahmed Mosque (The Blue Mosque). Built in 609-17 with unusually six minarets, it is a classic square pattern with the central dome (43m high, 23.5m diameter) and semi-domes on each side supported by 4 immense stone pillars. There are always big lineups here circling the courtyard with its great informative panels. The highlight is the interior covered with 20,000 panels of mostly blue/green tiles, and 260 windows. Unfortunately, the dome was being renovated and could not be seen, but the aisles gave a good idea of what was there.
Hagia Sophia*. The third church on this site (originally consecrated in 360, destroyed by fire in 404, and rebuilt in 415). This model was built in 537 by Emperor Justinian and was the most inspiring Christian church in the world at the time (it took 1000 tradesmen and 10,000 workers six years to build). It was a Christian church for 916 years and a mosque for 482 years (1453-1923) and has many features of both religions inside. It was secularized in 1934 and converted into a museum in 1936. Some highlights were the 2nd century BC bronze doors.
Fatih Mosque. The courtyard of this giant busy mosque had a lovely ablution fountain with a metal spire, 2 minarets, a huge dome supported by 4 enormous columns and side half domes on all sides. There were many iron rings of lights covering the entire interior.
Zeyrek Mosque. This is a much older, simpler mosque of pink stone and cement with a nice barrel vault entrance. The older half had a steel girder suspension system giving support to the 4 main columns. The new side had faux marble columns.
Laleli Mosque. Built from 1760-63, it withstood the earthquake of 1766. It has 2 minarets. This was the first time we had come to a mosque during one of the times of prayer. A sermon was being delivered and many of the older men were seated in chairs on the carpet.
37 km east of Samsun, in the middle of the huge Muslim Tea Göğcel graveyard, this is easily the most unusual mosque I have ever been to.
The oldest wooden mosque in Turkey, it is a master of wood construction and one of the most significant samples of Turkish wooden architecture. There is no record of the date of construction but according to radiocarbon tests, the mosque was built in 1206, and the porch in front in 1335. Several kinds of trees were used – elm, ash, and chestnut. The planks are approximately 15-18 cm thick, 50-70 cm wide and approximately 12-20m.long. No nails were used in the structure except some wrought iron nails to connect the column heads to the beams and in the annexes. There is a large entrance and then the mosque itself with the roof supported by 6 wood columns and a system of beams.
ISKENDERPASA MOSQUE Trabzon Turkey
Just east of the main square, this old stone mosque appears to have had 4 building phases – the first for the square bit holding the large dome, the second addition to the front also part of the main prayer area, the third another addition for the porch and the brick minaret that appears to be a rebuild. The mihrab is intricately carved grey stone and the minbar is completely marble with a cone roof and intricate carving. The dome looks painted but the rest of the decoration is badly executed faux marble columns and floral designs.
As I was writing this, the mullah sat beside me, holding up my outstretched hand demonstrating the name of Allah is just like a hand. He asked if I was Islam. Christian? And then fervently expressed his love for Allah.
On a Saturday afternoon, it was crowded with many simply relaxing on the carpet. Little kids were running around and playing. It is a large square with 20 domes, the right central one with a glass ceiling over a large 16-sided ablution fountain (guys were washing their feet, faces, hair and arms). The inside is plain white with some unexciting stencilled crests and several framed Arabic writings. It has a lovely gilded mihrab and a single huge brick minaret.
KOCATEPE MOSQUE, Ankara Turkey
My first comment when I saw this mosque from down the street was “Now that’s a mosque” – huge, white, four towering minarets each with 3 ornate balconies and multiple blue domes crescending up to the large central dome. Inside the prayer hall is magnificent with (from the bottom up) 4m of tiles, two rows of jeli screened windows, several half domes rising to another layer of 6 larger half domes all terminating in the huge central dome. Windows are at the bottom of all the domes and everything is a wonder of Islamic geometric art. A massive crystal globe chandelier is surrounded by 32 smaller crystal globes in the center. I entered at 5 pm prayers and there was a small crowd surrounding the mihrab.
MOSQUES in KONYA, Turkey
Alaaddin Mosque, built between the mid-12th and mid-13th centuries, is the city’s focal point situated within a circular park. Originally a Christian Basilica, it became the dynastic mausoleum of the Seljuk sultans with “Turbes” for them. Next to it is a single wall of part of the former palace, now rather incongruously covered by a modern (and crumbling!) parabolic concrete shelter.
The mosque has a wood log roof supported by 6 rows of brick arches supported by 42 marble columns, five carved with “braided rope” designs. Steel bracing supports each of the columns across the capitals. The mihrab is a simple painting on the wall. The dome on the outside is an octagonal tower. Out front, an ancient ruined tower has had a replica front and top reconstructed and supported by steel girders.
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Sultan Salim Mosque. In the square next to the Mevlana Museum, this 1570 grand mosque has 2 minarets and a portico of 7 domes supported by 6 columns. The entrance has great muqarnas decoration. Inside it is 3 naved with 4 huge columns supporting the central dome painted in typical Islamic design. The highlight is the chandelier, a central “dome” of lights surrounded by 3 gigantic brass circles and 3 rows of lights. There is a carved grey stone mihrab and an ornate white marble minbar.
Alaeddin Mosque is located in the southern part of the inner citadel. It was constructed in 1223. The mosque includes all features of the Classical Seljukian Mosque Architecture. It was one of the first examples of completely geometrical Anatolian stone ornamentation with the star-shaped geometric pattern on the Eastern Portal. The double façade concept of portals in different forms on the eastern and northern facades of the Mosque was continued in the Great Mosque of Divriği and Sungur Bey Mosque. The flat vault placed on the muqarnas with the rich cover system in the Mosque is not seen in the other structures constructed before. The madder ornament on the motives of the halters of the minbar with the muqarnas on which the flat vault was placed was also seen first here.
Mosque of Sungur Bey is located in the southwest of the Niğde Citadel. It was constructed in 1335. The mosque has a rectangular plan and double minarets. Kündekari and inlaid work techniques were used together on the door leafs and its minbar with inlaid mother of pearl. The mosque has the features of Anatolian Seljukian Art and Gothic Art.
YIVLIMINARE MOSQUE Antalya TurkeyThis is a wonderful mosque inside with six white stone domes supported by 2 rows of marble columns with Corinthian capitals. The unusual red brick minaret has 8 round facets. Unique water pipes are exposed under the floor revealed in a recent restoration. TL36
GREAT MOSQUE of AMADIYA Kurdistan (Sulaymaniyah Great Mosque). One of the icons of the city, the 33m high minaret dates to the 12th century and is the oldest and largest in Kurdistan. It is an impressive yellow stone structure. Inside, a spiral staircase leads to the top of the minaret where the Adhan, or call to prayer, is traditionally performed five times daily.
Visitors may enter the minaret to view the village and valleys below when the caretaker or imam is available. The Amedi minaret has been compared to the one that once towered over the Mosul’s al-Nuri mosque, which was destroyed by ISIS in 2017. They were built during the same period and have a similar round tower on a square foundation.
Formerly used as a church, the mosque was later founded in the 16th century during the reign of Sultan Hussein Wali (1534-1570 C.E.), prince of the Bahdinan Emirate, one of the most powerful Muslim Kurdish principalities in history.
The architectural design with the floor over a meter below ground level, hints that the present-day mosque may have once been used as a temple before being converted into a church. The mosque, with an area of approximately 2,000 square meters that can accommodate at least 300 worshipers, was also once used as a school for Islamic studies and Arabic language. The inside is quite unusual with 4 sections separated by massive arches and raised benches.
It was locked when I arrived. Two university students arrived and opened it (the key was under the carpet). They were studying English and took me to a tea shop down the street. They asked me to stay with them at the dormitory and I foolishly declined. They were very pleasant and became Facebook friends.
We learned that Iraqis can only go to 27 countries with their passport. Only North Korea is probably worse.
JALIL KHAYAT MOSQUE Erbil Iraq
This new mosque has 2 minarets each with 3 balconies. The outside has great tiles even the small round columns on the porch. It was locked but after the “boss” (an ancient man) arrived, they opened it so I could see the inside. It is a wonder of domes and gorgeous tile work with red/white arches. Surrounding the main dome are four half domes and another 4 cascading down. The mihrab is mirrored stalactites.
FATEMEH MASOUMEH SHRINE Qom Iran
The death of Fātimah bint Mūsā, the sister of the eighth Imam of Shias Ali al-Ridha in the city in 201/816–17 proved to be of great importance for the later history of Qom. Fātimah bint Mūsā died while following her brother to Khorasan, a region in northern Iran. The place of her entombment developed from 869–70 into a building that was transformed over time into today’s magnificent and economically important sanctuary.
The oldest parts are some 500-year-old foundations. The complex has been constantly renovated and enlarged and all looks new – a spectacle of coloured tiles, minarets, small towers on the gates and magnificent domes. Seeing the shrine requires a guide from the complex and no buildings can be entered by non-Muslims.
Enter a 6-year-old large courtyard centred on a mosque with a gigantic dome, two minarets and a nice portal. On the far side is the entry to the courtyard of the shrine. Its dome has 119kgs of gold, portal, 33kgs on the muqarnas portal and 19kgs on the small roofed “Shah’s balcony” on the opposite side of the shrine. Behind the large gold dome is another large dome of the mosque inside the shrine. From the outside, one can get a look at the tomb – silver grated under a gold roof.
MOSQUES OF SHIRAZ Iran
Nasir Ol Molk Mosque
This traditional mosque was built during Qajar dynasty rule between 1876-1888. It is named the ‘Pink Mosque’ in popular culture due to the usage of considerable pink tiles for its interior design. The mosque has two sides. The entrance, courtyard and summer side has gorgeous floral tile work with stalactites, script and landscapes. The highlight of the summer side is the bright blue, green, yellow and red glass windows on the façade allowing sunlight to fill the mosque with colour.
The winter side has simple brick tiling and a mihrab so small I couldn’t find it.
This mosque is a museum and not actively used for religious purposes.
Vakil Mosque. Situated to the west of the Vakil Bazaar, it was built between 1751 and 1773, during the Zand period and restored in the 19th century during the Qajar period. Vakil means regent, the title used by Karim Khan, the founder of the Zand Dynasty who endowed many buildings, including this mosque.
Vakil Mosque covers an area of 8,660 square meters. It has only two iwans instead of the usual four, on the northern and southern sides of a large open court. The iwans and court are decorated with typical Shirazi haft rangi tiles. Its night prayer hall contains 48 monolithic pillars carved in spirals, each with a capital of acanthus leaves. The minbar in this hall is cut from a solid piece of green marble with a flight of 14 steps and is considered to be one of the masterpieces of the Zand period. The exuberant floral decorative tiles largely date from the Qajar period.
The huge porticoed courtyard is covered with tiles and has a central pool and two large tiled entrances. The bottom of the wall is an intricate marble carved base. This side is not used for religious purposes and has a stone floor.
The winter side is small, much more austere and the one used for prayer.
JAME MOSQUE Yazd Iran
Yazd briefly served as the capital of the Muzaffarid Dynasty in the fourteenth century and was unsuccessfully besieged in 1350–1351 by the Injuids under Shaikh Abu Ishaq. The Friday (or Congregation) mosque, arguably the city’s greatest architectural landmark and other important buildings date to this period. Built in the 12th century and still in use, the Jame Mosque of Yazd is an example of the finest Persian mosaics and excellent architecture with a T-shape grand arched entry and a smaller area under a big Mongol dome with beehive turquoise brick designs. 
Its minarets at 52m in height atop a grand 28m tall mosaicked portal, the highest in the country. The minarets have one balcony each and lovely brick mosaic designs.
A qanat that originates 90kms away in Fahraz, passes through 3 villages, flows under the mosque, has 2100 wells in its length and emerges in the town of Zarch outside Yazd.
The mosque is fronted by a long courtyard with 12×5 alcoves. The arches are draped with black cloth for this week during the Arba’een March in Karaba Iraq.
MOSQUES OF ISFAHAN Iran
Masjed-e Shah (Shah Mosque, Imam Khomeini Mosque). The crown jewel of the square, this mosque replaced the Jameh Mosque for conducting the Friday prayers. To achieve this, the Shah Mosque was constructed not only with a vision of grandeur, having the largest dome in the city, but also a religious school and a winter mosque clamped at either side of it.
The grand portal has several vaulted open domes with muqarnas and 4 minarets. The silver door had several bullet holes from Afghan bullets in 1722. The corridor makes a 45° turn to enter a huge courtyard lined by two stories of alcoves covered in blue tiles. The other two sides also have large arched portals each with alabaster basins for juice. The main chamber has a double dome that echoes sound. The majestic mihrab has a rectangular basin where the mullahs stood in prayer and then ascended the solid 14-step stairs to the minbar where they could preach to the masses from above. This is only a tourist attraction now and the winter mosque in the SE corner serves as the active “mosque”.
A mullah sits in the courtyard ready to talk to tourists about Islam and Iran. We talked for at least 30 minutes asking as probing questions as we could. The guy was a skilled politician easily evading how Islam deals with apostates, atheists, Sunni Islam, Saudi Arabia and the common situation where young Iranians often don’t get married and live together.
The Lotfollah Mosque (Sheikh Lotf Allah Mosque, Women’s Mosque). The first structure was built on the square in 1028, it was a private mosque of the royal court. For this reason, the mosque does not have any minarets and is smaller. A tunnel goes under the square from the Ali Qapu Palace so that the royal women can go to the mosque unnoticed. Like the Shah Mosque, the entrance turns 45º so the mosque faces Mecca.
Centuries later, it was opened to the public to admire the effort that Shah Abbas had put into making this a sacred place for the ladies of his harem, and the exquisite tile work, which is far superior to those covering the Shah Mosque – the tile colours are yellow (saffron), blue (lapis lazuli), green (pistachio) and tan (walnut). Turquoise spiral columns frame large arches of tile with Koran script and floral patterns. The signature mihrab dates from 1028 and has dates and the signature of the Lebanese designer.
Masjed-e Jāmé of Isfahan (Jāmeh Mosque) is the grand, congregational mosque in Isfahan. The mosque is the result of continual construction, reconstruction, additions and renovations on the site from around 771 to the end of the 20th century. The Grand Bazaar of Isfahan can be found towards the southwest wing of the mosque. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2012.
Built during the Umayyad dynasty, it is rumoured that one of the pillars of this Mosque was personally built by the Caliph in Damascus. Before it became a Mosque, it is said to have been a house of worship for Zoroastrians. This is one of the oldest mosques still standing in Iran, and it was built in the four-iwan architectural style, placing four gates face to face. An iwan is a vaulted open room. The qibla iwan on the southern side of the mosque was vaulted with muqarnas during the 13th century. Muqarnas are niche-like cells.
Construction under the Seljuqs included the addition of two brick-domed chambers, for which the mosque is renowned. The south dome was built to house the mihrab in 1086–87 and was larger than any dome known at its time. The north dome was constructed a year later. Further additions and modifications took place incorporating elements from the Mongols, Muzzafarids, Timurids and Safavid with different architectural styles, so now the mosque represents a condensed history of Iranian Architecture.
Turkmenbashi Ruhy Mosque (Kipchak Mosque or Spiritual Mosque of Turkmenbashi). Built between 2002-4 this is the biggest mosque in Central Asia able to hold 10,000 worshippers. The outside is fantastic with 4 minarets, gold domes, large pools with fountains and a 17-step cascading waterfall surrounding 95% of the building. Inside the eight-pointed star shape building are 7 entrances and all the columns are white marble with grey marble insets – 22 support the balcony and 16 large ones support the huge dome – 55m high, 50m diameter, lined with 48 windows and decorated with trapezoidal geometrics. The base of the dome and walls have inspirational messages about Mohammed and Turkmenistan.
There was no one else there. It is not used much as it is so far out of the city built in the town of Kipchak, the birthplace of Turkmenbashi.\
MARY MOSQUE Mary Turkmenistan
Another grand mosque was full of marble columns. There are two rows, each of 24 nice stained glass. Another highlight is the large tiled panels.
MOSQUE of ISLAMIC SOLIDARITY, Mogadishu Somalia
This mosque was built by the Saudis in the mid-1980s. This mosque was difficult to see as it is in a sector of town with the parliament, national theatre, president’s residence and many government buildings. Villa Somalia is the official residential palace and workplace of the President of Somalia, The Governor’s Palace of Mogadishu was the seat of the governor of Italian Somaliland,
Our guide paid a general in the army $20 (normally $50 but reduced as he was a relative of Mohammed, our main guide). The general got into the car with us and took us to the theatre and the mosque. The mosque is an impressive large building with a single minaret and columns with gold designs. I wasn’t allowed to pass the top of the stairs and could not even look in the doors so moved around to see the prayer hall as best as I could.
BOAT SHAPED MOSQUE Karachi, Pakistan
This small new mosque of grey stone is on the outskirts towards the northwest. It is in the shape of a boat, has a very low coffered ceiling, and a nice wood ‘cabinet’ for a mihrab.
MASJID-e-TOOBA Karachi Pakistan
This spectacular mosque built in 1996-99 is one large dome with no columns – 212 feet in diameter, 51.98 feet high with a cone minaret that tapers to a point 126 feet high. The ceiling is small mirrors enclosed in pentagons. The 2.3 m high side walls are millions of tiny marble squares and triangles. It is a truly spectacular mosque.
The prayer hall itself holds 5,000, with the surrounding plaza 8,000 and with the lawns 30,000 worshippers.
SHAH JAHAN MOSQUE Thatta, Pakistan Tentative WHS (14/12/1993).
In 1592, Thatta was governed by the Mughal Empire based in Delhi, which led to a decline in the city’s prosperity. Shah Jahan, while still a prince, sought refuge in the city from his father Emperor Jahangir.
In 1626, Shah Jahan’s 13th son, Lutfallah, was born in Thatta. The city was almost destroyed by a devastating storm in 1637. As a token of gratitude for the hospitality, Shah Jahan bestowed the Shah Jahan Mosque to the city in 1647 as part of the city’s rebuilding efforts.
It is a heavy brick structure of simple construction built upon a stone plinth, with heavy square pillars and massive walls, and is centred around a courtyard 169′ X 97′. The prayer chamber is of a similar size. Both are covered by large domes. On the north and south two aisled galleries open through arcades onto the courtyard. Ninety-three domes cover the entire structure and are probably the cause of a remarkable echo, which enables the prayers in front of the Mihrab to be heard in any part of the building. 60 of the the domes are exquisite brick work and form two arcades surrounding the courtyard.
The mosque is richly embellished with decorative tiles – the most elaborate display of tile-work in the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent. The two main chambers, in particular, are entirely covered with them. Their domes have been exquisitely laid with a mosaic of radiating blue and white tiles. Stylish floral patterns, akin to the seventeenth-century Kashi work of Iran, decorate the spandrels of the main arches and elsewhere geometrical designs on square tiles are disposed of in a series of panels.
Shah Jahan Mosque features extensive tile work that displays Timurid influences introduced from Central Asia.
BHONG MOSQUE Bhong Pakistan
Wow, don’t miss this one even though it is a long way out of the way. This mosque was built as the special project of one man, Rais Ghazi Mohammed, the architect, designer, and source of money. Started in 1932, it was finished in 1982 employing 2000 workers and training 200 craftsmen. It was constructed as a local centre of learning, employment, and support of local crafts in the tiny town of Bhong with only 5000 people.
Enter a marvellous large gate covered in glazed tile. There were 5 soldiers controlling entry. Pass a pool and some signs and enter the mosque on the left. Climb some marble steps with a marble banister. Outside is a covered prayer area under 18 vividly painted small domes. With 3 domes and 8 minarets, the outside is glazed tile and carved marble. Only photos do justice to the inside that uses glass, mirrors, painted glass (with actual scenes that are very unusual in a mosque), and lavishly painted walls above an onyx/marble wainscotting. The floor is also onyx and marble.
It was empty when I arrived but once the custodian opened the mosque for me to enter, there was a large crowd. Free
SHADI IDGAH MOSQUE Multan Pakistan (Eid Ghah Mosque)
In north Multan, this is a mosque not to be missed. With two minarets, the outside is not finished and needs paint between all the areas of blue tile. The inside is a riot of Islamic design in the 7 domes, three on each side of the large central dome. The prayer hall is very long and narrow. The lower wall wainscotting needs to be tiled but otherwise beautifully painted.
In the corner of the large square is a spectacular tomb. A four-story high dome, octagonal and embellished with arches, balconies and painted walls.
MAHABAT KHAN MOSQUE Peshawar Pakistan
Sadik was able to park and I walked through a gold souk to see the mosque. In the marble courtyard outside, a big crowd was starting prayers. The outside is a wonderful white marble with 2 minarets and tiny towers gracing the roofline. Inside it was a marvel of Islamic design with all the walls, ceiling, and domes painted in elaborate florals, unfortunately, much of it crumbling on the lower walls.
FAISAL MOSQUE Islamabad Pakistan
The largest mosque in South Asia and the fifth largest in the world. With four towering minarets, it is visible from all over. The huge marble plaza has a sunken fountain. Inside it is a huge square, with a one-piece red carpet and a mihrab consisting of a marble column between an open Koran.
It is the sixth-largest mosque in the world and the largest in South Asia, located on the foothills of Margalla Hills in Pakistan’s capital city of Islamabad. The mosque features a contemporary design consisting of eight sides of the concrete shell and is inspired by the design of a typical Bedouin tent, a contemporary and influential piece of Islamic architecture.
Construction of the mosque began in 1976 after a $28 million grant from Saudi King Faisal, whose name the mosque bears. The unconventional design by Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay was selected after an international competition. Without a typical dome, the mosque is shaped like a Bedouin tent, surrounded by four 260-foot (79 m) tall minarets. The design features eight-sided shell-shaped sloping roofs forming a triangular worship hall that can hold 10,000 worshippers.
Combined with the structure covering an area of 33 acres (130,000 m2; 1,400,000 sq ft), the mosque dominates the landscape of Islamabad. It is situated at the north end of Faisal Avenue, putting it at the northernmost end of the city and at the foot of Margalla Hills, the westernmost foothills of the Himalayas. It is located on an elevated area of land against a picturesque backdrop of the national park. Faisal Mosque was the largest mosque in the world from 1986 until 1993 when it was overtaken by the mosques in Saudi Arabia.
MOSQUES in LAHORE Pakistan
Grand Jamia Mosque Bahria Town. This monstrous brick mosque is round with minarets on each of the four corners. The exterior has coloured tile accenting the austere brick. Inside the front is a massive grey stone dome with 13 chandeliers and with two aisles each with small domes. The actual small prayer room most used is small with orange/brown tiles on the ceiling and a white marble/brown stone mihrab. Oddly it has a traditional wood staired minbar.
There is a huge grass courtyard.
Badshahi Mosque, Lahore Tentative WHS (14/12/1993). The mosque and its vast courtyard are raised on a platform approached by a handsome 22 steps. The double-story entrance is elaborately decorated with framed and carved panels on all its facades. At the four corners, there are square minarets surmounted by pseudo-pavilions of red sandstone with white marble cupolas. At the four corners of the courtyard are the tall octagonal minars (towers). Four smaller minarets, also octagonal, are attached to the corners of the prayer chamber. Above them rise three grand bulbous marble domes. The red sandstone of the building is decorated externally with unobtrusive lines and patterns in white marble inlay. The embellishment of the prayer chamber in the interior and exterior with Zanjira interlacing and flowers with their spidery tendrils, treated in bold relief, is a unique work of unsurpassed beauty and workmanship in Mughal architecture. The inscription on the gateway indicates that it was built in A.H. 1084 (1673-74 A.D)
When I first arrived at the large gate and entrance to the mosque, I was turned back and told to return at 2 pm. Seeing as the Lahore Fort was next door, I thought I would see it first. I ended up walking around about 95% of the huge fort to the Gate and saw the fort and Sheesh Mahal.
The courtyard of the mosque is 200m away, so I saw it and was finished by 1:50! There were no problems entering the busy mosque before 2 pm, but I had to walk a long way to do it.
Wazir Khan’s Mosque, Lahore Tentative WHS (14/12/1993) is a 17th-century mosque commissioned during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a part of an ensemble of buildings that also included the nearby Shahi Hammam baths. Construction of the Wazir Khan Mosque began in 1634 C.E. and was completed in 1641.
Considered to be the most ornately decorated Mughal-era mosque,[3] Wazir Khan Mosque is renowned for its intricate faience tile work known as kashi-kari, as well as its interior surfaces that are almost entirely embellished with elaborate Mughal-era frescoes. The mosque has been under extensive restoration since 2009.
In the courtyard is the tomb of Miran Badshah, an esteemed Sufi saint. Wazir Khan’s mosque was part of a larger complex that included a row of shops.
Bricks facing the mosque’s exterior are richly embellished with the Persian-style title work known as kashi-kari with star-shaped flowers and grapevines. The mosque also contains motifs of cypress trees and is the first Mughal monument to have borrowed this motif from Persia.
Unlike the contemporary Shah Jahan Mosque in Sindh, the interior walls of Wazir Khan Mosque are plastered and adorned with highly detailed buon frescoes. The underside of the dome features frescoes depicting trees in pairs, pitchers of wine, and platters of fruit, which are an allusion to the Islamic concept of Paradise. The arched niche at the mosque’s entrance is richly decorated with floral motifs and features one of Lahore’s first examples of muqarnas.
The mosque’s courtyard contains a pool used for the Islamic ritual washing, wudu that measures 35 feet by 35 feet. The courtyard features a subterranean crypt which contains the tomb of the 14th-century Sufi saint Syed Muhammad Ishaq Gazruni, also known by the name Miran Badshah. The courtyard is flanked on four sides by 32 khanas, or small study cloisters for religious scholars. The mosque’s four 107-foot-tall minarets are located in each corner of the courtyard.
Dai Anga Mosque. Dai Anga Mosque is situated near the railway station of Lahore. The Mosque was built in 1635 AD by Zeb Un Nisa aka Dai Anga, who was the wet nurse of Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan and exerted great influence in the Mughal court. The exterior of the mosque has been embellished with fine tile work similar to that seen at the mosque of Wazir Khan in Lahore. The interior also displayed fine frescoes but during restoration replaced by cheap modern ceramic.
Oddly for a mosque anywhere (where there are never images of real things), there were two tile “pictures” of the mosques in Mecca and Medina.
IMAM IBN AL-KADHIM SHRINE Najaf Iraq (Al-Kadhimiya Mosque) is a Shi’ite Islamic mosque and shrine that contains the tombs of the seventh and ninth Twelver Shī’ī Imāms, respectively Mūsā al-Kāẓim (762 AD) and his grandson Muhammad al-Jawad (834 AD). Also buried within the premises are the historical scholars Shaykh Mufīd and Shaykh Naṣīr ad-Dīn aṭ-Ṭūsi.
The mosque was built on the site of the Quraish cemetery, which was created with the original Round City of Baghdad in 762 AD. The current building dates to the restoration carried out from 1502–1524. It was further ornamented by the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent after he conquered Baghdad in 1534. Since it has continued to be kept in a state of good repair
The golden dome over the grave of Muhammad at-Taqī was re-gilded in 2008.
At 6 am large crowds were walking to this shrine.
Contains the Safavid mosque built in the 16th century. It is very crowded, not clean, and has complicated security.
GREAT MOSQUE of KUFA, Kufa Iraq was constructed in the middle of the 7th century and contains the remains of Muslim ibn Aqeel — first cousin of Husayn ibn Ali and the revolutionary Al-Mukhtar.
This is a large complex with two large courtyards, two square brick towers, 2 large tiled minarets, one smaller minaret and two spectacular mosques, both with shrines under enormous domes. The entire ceilings and arches ending in columns are mosaic mirrors and coloured glass. The main floor is equally divided into a men’s and women’s halves.
MOSQUES in BAGHDAD Iraq
Al-Khulafa Mosque. In NE Baghdad, this is a simple square, brick mosque with a nice minaret of brick and tile. I am not sure why it would be closed on a Friday. 11.2 km
Mosque-Madrasa of Al-Asifyah. In Adamiyah, this is another simple square brick mosque but with a wonderful minaret with elaborate tile/brick work.
Abu Hanifa Mosque. Contains the tomb of Abu Hanifa (699–767), a Persian Sunni Muslim theologian and jurist who became the eponymous founder of the Hanafi school of Sunni jurisprudence, which has remained the most widely practiced law school in the Sunni tradition.
Don’t miss this spectacular, huge mosque. Outside the clocktower and entrance columns have intricate carvings, a blue band of calligraphy encircles it, and the minaret has intricate brick/tile work. Inside it is a splendor of incised stonework, many small domes and intricate columns. The maquina work in the large dome is wonderful.
Al-Kadhimiya Mosque (Yassin Mosque). This is the most important Shia mosque in Baghdad and has the tombs of Shi’ite Imams Musa al-Kadhim and Muhammad al-Jawad.
The mosque is in a pedestrian-only zone – walk along the very wide street with the two gold domes and four minarets of the mosque framed. The security is intense with 3 searches – don’t bring a pack and phones must be checked. Enter the huge courtyard with many “umbrellas” just like in Medina. I wonder how much disease is transmitted as the believers kiss everything.
MOSQUES in CAIRO Egypt
Al-Azhar Mosque. One of the most important and lasting institutions founded in the Fatimid period was the Mosque of al-Azhar, founded in 970 AD, which competes with the Qarawiyyin in Fes for the title of the oldest university in the world. Today, al-Azhar University is the foremost center of Islamic learning in the world and one of Egypt’s largest universities with campuses across the country. The mosque itself retains significant Fatimid elements but has been added to and expanded in subsequent centuries.
Ibn Tulun Mosque. The oldest mosque to retain its original form and a rare example of Abbasid architecture, from the classical period of Islamic civilization. It was built in 876–879 AD in a style inspired by the Abbasid capital of Samarra in Iraq. It is one of the largest mosques in Cairo and is often cited as one of the most beautiful.
Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan. Monumental mosque and madrasa are located in the historic district of Cairo. It was built between 1356 and 1363 during the Bahri Mamluk period. The mosque was considered remarkable for its massive size and innovative architectural components and is still considered one of the most impressive historic monuments in Cairo today.
The construction is considered all the more remarkable as it coincided with the devastation wrought by the Black Plague, which struck Cairo repeatedly from the mid-14th century onwards. Construction costs amounted to over one million dinars, making it the most expensive mosque in medieval Cairo.
The importance and scale of the building project also attracted craftsmen from all over the Mamluk empire, including Anatolia, which may explain the diversity and innovativeness of the mosque’s design and decoration. Due to its location near the Citadel and massive and sturdy construction, it was used as a fortified position or as a platform to launch attacks on the Citadel.
In 1869 construction began on a monumental new mosque, the Mosque of ar-Rifa’i, right next to the existing mosque of Sultan Hasan. Completed in 1912, the two buildings together now dominate the old Rumayla Square across from the Citadel. Today the square is occupied by a large traffic circle and has been renamed Salah ad-Din Square.
The building is 500m X 68m wide and 36m high. The longer sides have vertical rows of eight windows each on four stories inside. The top edge of the exterior facades are crowned by a thick cornice of muqarnas projecting 1.5 meters over the rest of the wall
The mosque today has two minarets – the southern original one is the highest minaret of Mamluk architecture at 84m. The northern one collapsed in 1659 and was rebuilt in its current form in 1671-72.
The entrance portal is gigantic at 38 meters high. Although the exterior walls of the building are stone, the interior is brick. The enormous central square courtyard is surrounded by four monumental iwans (vaulted chambers open on one side) and four madrasas devoted to one of the four madhhabs (schools of thought in Sunni Islamic jurisprudence). The chamber is decorated with multicoloured marble mosaic panelling. The round dome (12 meters in diameter) is sculpted into muqarnas. The Cenotaph at the middle of the mausoleum chamber is dated to 1384, but Sultan Hasan’s body was never found after he was killed, and as such he was never buried here.
Muhammad Ali Mosque. A mosque situated on the summit of the citadel, this Ottoman mosque has twin minarets, the most visible mosque in Cairo. Built between 1830 and 1848, The 21m diameter and 52m high central dome is surrounded by four small and four semicircular domes in a square plan 41×41 meters. Two elegant cylindrical minarets rise to 82 meters.
The monumental tower clock was gifted by King Louis Philippe of France around 1836-1840. The clock was reciprocated with the obelisk of Luxor now standing in Place de la Concorde in Paris.
MASSAWA CENTRAL MOSQUE Massawa Eritrea
There is no central mosque but four were marked on the map. The only one open was the Sheikh Hanal Alansaui Mosque dating from the 16th century. It is lovely with a round minaret, many round columns with turquoise tiles on the bottoms and a large white dome. The mihrab was blue/white tile with a narrow wood minbar. There was no one inside.
MOSQUES in MALACCA Malaysia
Kampung Kling Mosque
Originally built of wood in 1748, it was rebuilt with stone in 1872. It is a very unusual mosque with elements of Chinese and Malay design. It looks like a Chinese pagoda. Inside are gold Corinthian columns. and a lovely flower tile border next to the roof. Outside is a 6-story stone minaret, a lovely ablution pool and a cemetery.
Malacca Straits Mosque. Built on pilings over the water, this large mosque has a single square tapering minaret and a huge dome with a black/white geometric design. A large group from the hostel went there to see the sunset.
MOSQUES of KUALA LUMPUR Malaysia
National Mosque of Malaysia. Covering 13 acres, it can hold about 50,000 people. It was built in 1965. The main features are a 73m-high minaret, the star-shaped dome with 18 points – they represent the country’s 13 states and the five pillars of Islam, beautiful gardens and fountains, and the Heroes’ Mausoleum.
As Syakirin Mosque (KLCC Mosque). A large modern mosque. Unusually there are two large “outside” prayer areas and two inside prayer halls. The main hall on the second floor has a lovely huge dome decorated with geometrics and a massive chandelier. The mihrab is a large white and the minbar is a desk with a chair and microphone.
KHOJA SHIA ITHNAASHRI MOSQUE Antananarivo Madagascar
A wonderful mosque with a stunning facade of tiles and Koranic writing in a mihrab-shaped alcove. Two minarets with gold domes. Large central dome. The lower prayer hall was open but the upper one was closed.
BADJANANI MOSQUE (Old Friday mosque) Moroni Comoros
The Ancienne Mosquée de Vendredi is the oldest mosque in Medina. It was originally built in 1427, and a minaret was added in 1921.is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as jumu’ah. In early Islamic history, the number of congregational mosques in one city was strictly limited. As cities and populations grew over time, it became more common for many mosques to host Friday prayers in the same area. The full Arabic term for this kind of mosque is masjid jāmi‘ (مَسْجِد جَامِع), which is typically translated as “mosque of congregation” or “congregational mosque”.
This mosque was built at the beginning of the 19th century. The 1899 photos of the Resident of France Pobeguin do not show the existence of this mosque.
It is located in the center of a district of the capital called Badjanani. It is built according to an Arab-Muslim architecture. Currently, another mosque is built a few meters from this one, but we continue to maintain it well and frequent it en masse. Friday for the week, and the day of the ide for the year, constitute the great occasions when one can see this very full mosque. Its exterior colour has always been white. This mosque has a large minaret that can be spotted from afar.
It sits on the road across from the water and forms the west wall of the medina. It is two-story with a rectangular prayer hall on both levels and a balcony with nice arcades on both levels. It was closed but I went into the upper prayer hall and saw the bottom well through windows. It has lovely arched columns. Open only on Fridays?
KAIRAOUINE MOSQUE, Fez Morocco
The Kairaouine Mosque is Fez’s true heart. Built in 859 by refugees from Tunisia, and rebuilt in the 12th century, it can accommodate up to 20,000 people at prayer. Non-Muslims have to be content with glimpses of its seemingly endless columns from the gates on Talaa Kebira and Place as-Seffarine.
Towering above the Oued Bou Regreg is Rabat’s most famous landmark. This 44m unfinished minaret was begun in 1195; the beautifully designed and intricately carved tower still lords over the remains of the adjacent mosque – a sea of stone columns.
HASSAN II MOSQUE, Casablanca Morocco. The Hassan II Mosque is the world’s third-largest mosque, built to commemorate the former king’s 60th birthday. The mosque (and its 210m minaret) rises above the ocean on an outcrop northwest of the medina, a vast building that holds 25,000 worshippers and a further 80,000 in the squares around it. To see the interior you must take a guided tour.
The largest and oldest surviving of the mosques. Dating from the 12th century, it marks the intellectual and religious heart of the Medina. All mosques in Morocco prohibit entrance by non-Muslims. The ancient sign on the door read: “Cette mosque est reserve exclusivement au Cette Musulman (Privé) Merci”.
Grande Mosquée (Mosquée Saoudienne). A major landmark in the centre with its slender minarets. We could peer into the doors. The endless white columns were painted in stark black bas-relief patterns. Non-muslims are not allowed to enter. Probably the same French soldiers walked into the mosques with their dirty boots.Mosquée MarocaineThis large mosque towers over a bustling market area.
MOSQUES IN DHAKA Bangladesh
Tara Mosque (Star Mosque). One of the prettiest mosques inside and out – ornate tiles in many styles, and 5 domes with blue stars on the outside.
Chawkbazar Shahi Mosque. In the chaotic old town, it is on a tiny lane in the centre of a maze of pedestrian streets. It has a single minaret and lovely tiles on the walls and round columns.Puran Dhaka, The older part of Dhaka, is a city of history, with hundred-year-old buildings crammed on each side of hundreds of narrow lanes. Each “Moholla” (city block) of Puran Dhaka is unique with its specialized shops and artisans and gives an authentic taste of what Dhaka is all about. The traffic is part of the experience – pedestrians, guys carrying enormous loads on their heads, freight rickshaws carrying gargantuan loads (these block traffic) and many rickshaws carrying people. A place full of smells from all the spice shops, sounds and atmosphere.
HISTORIC MOSQUE CITY of BAGERHAT. World Heritage Site.
Situated in the suburbs of Bagerhat, at the meeting point of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, this ancient city, formerly known as Khalifatabad, was founded by the Turkish general Ulugh Khan Jahan (d. 1459) in the 15th century. It sprawls over on the southern bank of the old river Bhairab. The city’s infrastructure reveals considerable technical skill and an exceptional number of mosques and early Islamic monuments, many built of brick.
The 50 km2 city contains some of the most significant buildings of the initial period of the development of Muslim architecture of Bengal: 360 mosques, public buildings, mausoleums, bridges, roads, water tanks and other public buildings constructed from baked brick.
This old city, created in a few years and covered up by the jungle after the death of its founder in 1459, is striking because of certain uncommon features. The density of Islamic religious monuments is explained by the piety of Khan Jahan. The lack of fortifications is attributable to the possibility of retreating into the impenetrable mangrove swamps of the Sundarbans. The quality of the infrastructures – the supply and evacuation of water, the cisterns and reservoirs, the roads and bridges – all reveal a perfect mastery of planning and a will towards spatial organization.
The Mosque City of Bagerhat preserves all the necessary elements – mosques, residences, roads, ancient ponds, tombs, and chilla khana (ancient graveyard) of a medieval Muslim town in the northern peripheral land of the Sundarbans.
More than 50 monuments are divided into two zones 6.5 km apart: There are only two monuments to see:
THE MOSQUE of SHAIT-GUMBAD (Sixty Dome Mosque) Bangladesh is one of the largest mosques and represents the flavour of the traditional orthodox mosque plan. It is the only example of its kind in Bengal. Its walls are 2.54 m thick, it has 60 pillars, four round corner turrets, 10 mihrabs (all of the unpainted brick with a decorative stone plaque above the lintel, some with brick medallions, and 25 arches, The mosque is surrounded by its own 5-foot high brick wall, grass and two large trees, and around that extensive gardens with hedges, grass and flower beds. The museum has some interesting things: decorative terracotta bricks, large black stone plates, and eggshell Chinese porcelain. 200 T
In this area are also the mosques of Singar, Bibi Begni and Clumakkola (not seen).
ZEYNEL ABIDIN MOSQUE COMPLEX, Anatolia Turkey
Made of rough stone, this consists of a mosque, 1956 minaret, 1159 shrines of both Zeynel Abidin and his sister Sitti Zeynep (13th generation grandchild of the Prophet Muhammad), fountains, madrasah, graveyard and new apteshane. Construction dates to the 12th century. The mihrab and minbar are new. The building was renovated in later periods and lady’s worship was added to the community section.
Both have been significant centres of education and science. Nusaybin has been under Muslim control since the Arab conquest of 640. According to Syriac sources, the money required for the construction of Zeynel Abidin Mosque was given by two Christian priests with the idea of spending money on the way to God. The survival of the church for 1600 years is a testament to the Muslim respect for Mor Yakup. Both were built on land belonging to the same foundation with common cemeteries, shrines, madrasahs and schools.
SABANCI CENTRAL MOSQUE, Adana Turkey
This spectacular white marble mosque has six minarets each with 3 balconies (I have never seen a mosque with 6 minarets before) and a “wedding cake” of domes and levels. Inside is an arcade of balconies around 8 columns supporting a succession of half domes – the first level with 8 small and 4 large and a second level with 4 large half domes. All these are separated by muqarnas and lunettes of stained glass windows with every window, column and area of the wall with Islamic floral motif tiles and Quranic script.
TARSUS GRAND MOSQUE, Tarsus Turkey
Built by Ramazanoglu Piri Pasha in 1579. Outside are an octagonal clock tower and one minaret. The courtyard has 16 domes covered with original tiles and supported by 14 round marble columns. A mausoleum is on the western wall. Inside is long and narrow with two sets of arches supporting the flat wood roof. The highlights are the ornate marble minbar and mihrab with muqarnas decoration.
1st NOVEMBER 1954 GREAT MOSQUE, Batna Algeria
40,000 sq metres, it holds 30,000 at prayer. The dome holds a giant chandelier. Both the dome and ceiling are nicely decorated. The columns are polished marble and blue mosaics.
EMIR ABDELKADER MOSQUE, Constantine Algeria
This is one of the great mosques of the world. The outside is white, has four minarets and the windows jali screens. The inside is wonderful with stained glass windows, a great dome and columns with intricate tile work.
ELM MECHOUAR MOSQUE, Tlemcen Algeria
Park and walk up the narrow street to this old mosque containing two tombs surrounded by elaborate tile work. It was quite atmospheric with four old men chanting and many people touching the tombs.
MOSQUES of TRIPOLI Libya
Gurgui Mosque. Built in 1834 by the naval captain Mustafa Gurgi. To the right of the entrance are the tombs of Gurgi and his family. It mixes European and Islamic geometrics. The walls and columns are natural marble and its flooring has multi-coloured tiles. The minaret is 25 metres tall with two balconies made of genuine green marble. Other features include an arched entryway engraved with floral designs, 15 decorative domes, and calligraphy on the walls.
Ahmed Pasha Mosque. This lovely mosque in the souk has 16 columns and 12 feet of tiles and lovely jali screens for walls.
An-Naqah Mosque. This small mosque is unique in that none of its 36 stone columns and their capitals match. They look like they were scavenged from every ruin around.
NIAMEY GRAND MOSQUE, Niamey Niger
Niger is predominantly Muslim so mosques are the most common places of worship. This mosque was built by Gaddafi in 1977. It is lovely inside and out with lovely tiles on the columns, a nice carved wood minbar and a single minaret.
AGADEZ GRAND MOSQUE, Agadez Niger World Heritage Site.
Known as the gateway to the desert, Agadez, on the southern edge of the Sahara desert, developed in the 15th and 16th centuries when the Sultanate of Aïr was established here and Touareg tribes were sedentarized in the city. Agadez was an important crossroads of the caravan trade, divided into 11 quarters with irregular shapes. They contain numerous earthen dwellings of mud brick architecture including a large amount of housing and a well-preserved group of palatial and religious buildings including a 27m high minaret made entirely of mud-brick, the highest such structure in the world. The old town is characterized by cultural, commercial, and handicraft traditions and a decorative style specific to the Aïr region.
Today, Agadez flourishes as a market town and as a centre for the transportation of uranium mined in the surrounding area. This city amid the desert is safe. No tourists, but with better infrastructure than Timbuktu or even Mopti.
Notable buildings in the city include the Agadez Grand Mosque (originally dating from 1515 but rebuilt in the same style in 1844), the Kaocen Palace (now a hotel), and the Agadez Sultan’s Palace. The city is also known for its camel market and its silver and leatherwork.
The Grand Mosque is a truly imposing structure sits on the roof of a much bigger mosque with several prayer halls. The largest has 36 square columns and a nice carpet. The roof has many air conditioners. We attempted to climb the stairway that winds its way to the top. It has a low ceiling necessitating a full crouch and is very hot with no air circulation. A convoy of bats whizzes by. Richard was the only one who made it to the top – it simply wasn’t worth the discomfort.
THE EARTHEN MOSQUES of the TAHOUA REGION, Niger
Tentative WHS: (26/05/2006) The Tahoua region’s borders are: north by Agadez, west by Mali, east by Maradi and to the south by Nigeria.
The cultural landscape is marked by earthen constructions, mainly mosques made by the “architect-mason” Elhadj Mamoudou dit Falké and his apprentice, the mason Elhadj Habou. One, the Yaama mosque is recognized worldwide and won the Agha Khan Prize in 1986.
The large mosques have four minarets, of an original design (the two on the front have stairs that provide access to the roof). Inside is noted for the 8 rows of pillars that support the central dome, small domes, and the floor. The main facades have sets of reliefs and small openings. Small mosques have two minarets and generally belong to a personality (village chief, etc.).
Great Friday Mosque of Yaama was the first mosque where this new construction technique became widespread in 1962-3. It is simple and modest with only a prayer room and a single annex.
Elhadj Mamoudou dit Falké was a farmer who made several trips to Mecca in 1966. Using new architectural techniques, a renovation was started in 1977. A new roof supported by an arch and a dome required the removal of one of the columns creating free central space. Four corner towers each with two floors were added. The transformation of the mosque was completed in 1982. Other buildings such as palaces, dwellings, shelters, etc. were added by Elhadj Habou who continued the work of “the architect” Elhadj Mamoudou who died in 2002.
The ribbed central vault is compared to that of the Great Mosque of Cordoba.
Great Friday Mosque of Salewa (a village a few kilometres from Yamama) was built in 1989 by the mason Elhadj Habou.
BOBO-DIOULASSO GRAND MOSQUE, Bobo Burkina Faso
Possibly the largest example of Sudano-Sahelian architecture in the country, built in either 1880 or 1893 as a part of a political agreement between the king of Sya and Islamic religious leader Almamy Sidiki Sanou.
Enter the large low-ceiling mosque with many columns and rough wood stick ceilings. There are many vent holes covered by clay pots on the roof. The largest minaret was severely damaged and has been completely rebuilt using reinforced concrete and bricks – it had still not been mudded. The other minaret is intact. Climb up onto the roof of the mosque and descend the minaret.
THE GREAT MOSQUE of DJENNÉ, Mali
The Great Mosque, initially constructed in 1906, is made completely of mud with five stories and three towers. It is argued that the French had little influence except perhaps for the internal arches and that the design is “basically African”. Every spring the people replaster the Mosque. Whatever past prohibitions in entering the mosque, in 2022, there were no problems.
The fees for visiting the inside are 10,000 for entering the mosque and 10,000 for accessing the roof for views of the town. The mosque is very plain with hundreds of columns and woven mats instead of carpet. The female section is on the other side of the courtyard in a narrow, unkempt space.
SEGOU GRAND MOSQUE, Segou Mali With a single large square minaret and a nice courtyard, the inside columns were tiles in small gold mosaics.
THE FRIDAY MOSQUE OF CHINGUETTI Mauritania
Chinguetti (pop 4000) is one of the more attractive ancient caravan towns in the Sahara, Chinguetti is Unesco World Heritage listed. It was once famous for its Islamic scholars, and was the ancient capital of the Moors; some buildings date from the 13th century. Chinguetti butts up against Erg Warane, Mauritania’s biggest stretch of dunes.
Ksar or qsar is the North African term for “fortified village”. Chinguettti was founded in the 13th century as the center of several trans-Saharan trade routes the city is seriously threatened by the encroaching desert. The western boundary is marked by tall sand dunes and several houses have been swallowed by the desert.
The town is divided in two parts by a wadi. On one side lies the old town, and on the other the new town. This is the third reincarnation of the old town – the previous two were abandoned as they were buried under the sand.
The highlight of any visit is a wander through the labyrinthine lanes of Le Ksar (Old Town). The main building that dominates the old town is The Friday Mosque of Chinguetti, an ancient structure of dry-stone construction, featuring a square minaret capped with five ostrich egg finials. The mosque was built in the thirteenth or fourteenth century, and it is believed to be the second oldest continuously used minaret in the Muslim world. We could not enter the mosque but looked through the door – many large white columns and a dirt floor.
Other notable buildings in the town include the former French Foreign Legion fortress; and a tall water tower. The most important is the famous libraries, giving the town the name “The City of Libraries”. The Old Quarter has five important manuscript libraries of scientific and Quranic texts, with many dating from the later Middle Ages.
MOSQUES OF OUADINE, Mauritania
Sitting on the edge of the Adrar plateau, 120km northeast of Chinguetti, Ouadâne is one of the most enchanting semi-ghost towns of the Sahara.
The city rose to prominence in the 11th century. Alongside Chinguetti, Tichitt, and Oualata, Ouadane became an important trading and religious center along one of the most important trans-Saharan routes. The walls surrounding old Ouadane suggest it was a ksar, or fortified village.
As you arrive across the sands or plateau from Atâr or Chinguetti, the stone houses of Le Ksar al Kiali (Old Quarter) seem to tumble down the cliff. Buildings in the ksar that have not already crumbled to the ground are in a precarious state of disrepair, with one notable exception: the old mosque on the western end, at the base of the town. Built in the 15th century, the mosque received some restoration attention without detracting from its ancient charm. Like all mosques, the old mosque in Ouadane has a minaret, but unlike most mosques, this minaret is neither tall nor narrow. With a square base of 4 or 5 meters on each side, and no higher than a two-story house, this minaret is reminiscent of a turret built for military purposes. Yet, the shape and size of this structure may be the reason why it lasted so long.
The top of the hill is dominated by the minaret of the new mosque, which is a mere 200 years old. In between the two mosques, the crumbling structures seem to have been piled up higgledy-piggledy by some giant child playing with building blocks. Like Chinguetti, Ouadâne was a place of scholarship and is home to over 3000 manuscripts held in private libraries. Only 20 to 30 families still live in the old town.
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AL RAJHI MOSQUE, Riyadh Saudi Arabia
This is the biggest mosque in Riyadh and certainly the one with the most devout congregation. People were sleeping all over the back and many were studying the Koran sitting on the floor or pacing the hall. It has a large plain dome and a simple mihrab. The minbars in SA are often a tiny balcony next to the mihrab, not the elaborate wood minbars with stairs. As I was leaving, a fellow embraced me and handed me a pamphlet and book on Islam. Next door is a morgue.
MECCA MASJID, Hyderabad India is one of the world’s largest mosques with space for 10,000 worshippers and security is tight. Bricks were made from soil brought from Mecca, and used in the construction of the central arch of the mosque, thus giving the mosque its name. Construction began in 1617 CE with around 8,000 workers and was completed in 1693. The three-arched facades are carved from a single piece of granite, which took five years to quarry. 500 to 600 men were employed continually on its work and it took 1400 oxen to draw it.
It is constructed entirely of dressed stone, rather than rubble or plaster. The prayer hall is 225 feet (69 m) by 180 feet (55 m) and has a 75 feet (23 m) high ceiling. The facade of the prayer hall features five open arches and is flanked by two minarets. Each minaret is topped by a dome and adjoined to an arcaded balcony lining either side of the prayer hall. The sahn (courtyard) of the mosque measures 108 square metres.[4] It contains a sundial, as well as the remains of a hammam. Two minarets lie on either side of the main entrance to the mosque complex.
Jumeirah Mosque
This architecturally stunning mosque is the only one in Dubai open to non-Muslims, but only during guided tours offered through the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding. Built in 1979, the inside is wonderful. A superb Q&A session followed an introduction to Islamic religion and culture. She considered ISIS not to be Muslim.
Al Farooq Omar Bin Al Khattab Mosque. Umar bin Al Khattab was a companion of the Prophet Mohammed who became the second Caliph and was given the title Al Farooq, The original mosque was established on the same site in 1986, renovated in 2003 and 2011, can now accommodate 2,000 making it one of the UAE’s largest mosques. In 2011, it was the third to open its doors to non-Muslims (Mosque of late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi and the Grand Mosque in Jumeirah.
MASJID NEGARA (National Mosque) is in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is open to the public and does not restrict shorts; everyone must put on a purple robe to enter. Built in 1964, it is the most modern mosque I have ever seen. It holds 15,000 people. The main dome is an umbrella-shaped 18-point star symbolizing the 13 states of Malaysia and the 5 pillars of Islam.
SULTAN QABOOS GRAND MOSQUE, Muscat Oman.
Constructed from 1994-2000, about 300,000 tons of Indian sandstone was imported for the building. Five minarets – the main minaret (90 metres (300 ft)) in height, and the four flanking minarets (45.5 metres (149 ft)). The square prayer hall is 74.4 by 74.4 metres with a central dome 50 m high. The dome is embellished spectacularly from the inside and it is a major tourist attraction. The main musalla can hold over 6500 worshippers, while the women’s musalla can accommodate 750 worshipers. The outer paved ground can hold 8000 worshipers and the interior courtyard and the passageways, making a total capacity of up to 20,000 worshipers.
The prayer carpet contains 1,700,000,000 knots, weighs 21 tonnes and took four years to produce with over 6000 workers. 28 colours in varying shades were used, the majority obtained from traditional vegetable dyes. It is the second largest single-piece carpet in the world after the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
The chandelier above the praying hall is 14 metres (46 feet) tall, weighs 8.5 tons, includes 600,000 crystals, 1,122 halogen bulbs complete with a dimming system, and includes a staircase for maintenance within the chandelier. Thirty-four smaller chandeliers of the same design are hung in other parts of the building.
![Another shot of the ceiling in teh Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque (Muscat, Oman) [5530x3998] [OC ...](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22%20viewBox=%220%200%20631%20455%22%3E%3C/svg%3E)
GRAND MOSQUE of KUWAIT
Youssef Dey Mosque (Al B’chamqiya). Also in the Medina, it was the first Ottoman-Turkish mosque in Tunis. Originally a public speaking venue, it became a real mosque in 1631.
Kasbah Mosque. Built in 1230, it was the first mosque to be built in Tunis after Al-Zaytuna Mosque and was initially only for the rulers who lived in the Kasbah. Later it became a public mosque for the Friday prayer of the city.
Zaytouna Mosque (Grande Mosquée).At the medina’s heart lies this beautiful mosque, its forest of columns scrounged from Roman Carthage. Non-Muslims can only enter the courtyard, but it’s still deeply impressive.
THE MOSQUEE des SEPT DORMANTS (Mosque of the Seven Sleeps) Chenenni Tunisia is on a hillside outside the town. Built 700 years ago, it was a Christian Church before a mosque and is surrounded by the graves of Christians (the 8 graves are 5m long as the people were much bigger then!!) and several Berber graves. It is a gorgeous little structure with 7 small domes and a leaning tower capped with a triangular structure. It was locked as there were no tourists and people were using it to sleep in.
MOHAMMED al-AMIN MOSQUE Beirut Lebanon
With four 65m high minarets, it is an unmistakable landmark. Non-Muslims are welcome to see the impressive prayer hall with a great dome and huge cut-glass chandelier.
AL-FAITH MOSQUE, Bahrain
A visitor wanting to learn more about Islam could not do better than to visit this grand mosque, with its informative guides explaining aspects of religious etiquette while pointing out special features of mosque architecture. Built on reclaimed land in 1984, Al-Fatih Mosque is the largest building in the country and holds up to 7000 worshippers. The huge dome built on top of the Al-Fateh Mosque was constructed entirely of fibreglass. Weighing over 60 Tons, the dome was the world’s largest fibreglass dome. The mosque was built with marble from Italy, glass from Austria and teak wood from India, carved by Bahraini craftspeople.
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