Faisal Masjid (Pakistan)

Faisal Masjid (Pakistan)

It is the largest mosque in South Asia and one of the largest mosques in the world, located in the Islamabad capital city of Pakistan. In 1969, an international competition was held in which architects from 17 countries submitted 43 proposals. The mosque was designed by Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay (who won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture with this project)  to be shaped like a desert Bedouin's tent. The mosque's architecture is modern and unique, lacking both the traditional domes and arches of most other mosques around the world. The shape of the Faisal Mosque is an eight-sided concrete shell inspired by a desert Beduoin's tent and the cubic Kaaba in Mecca, flanked by four unusual minarets inspired by Turkish architecture Completed in 1986. It is situated at the North 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 Margalla Hills. This enviable location represents the mosque's great importance and allows it to be seen from miles around day and night. The Faisal Mosque is conceived as the National Mosque of Pakistan and named after the late King Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz of Saudi Arabia, who supported and financed the project. The Faisal Mosque was the largest mosque in the world from 1986 until 1993, when it was overtaken in size upon the completion of the Hassan II Mosque in, Morocco. Subsequent expansions of the Masjid al-Haram and Masjid al-Nabawi Saudi Arabia during the 1990s relegated Faisal Mosque to fourth place in terms of size.