Hassan II Mosque
Achbarou, Morocco · built 1993
The Hassan II Mosque is a mosque in Casablanca, Morocco. It is the second largest mosque in Africa and one of the largest mosques in the world. Its minaret is the world's second tallest minaret at 210 metres (689 ft). Completed in 1993, it was designed by Michel Pinseau under the guidance of King Hassan II and built by Moroccan artisans from all over the kingdom. The minaret is 60 stories high, topped by a laser, the light from which is directed towards Mecca. The mosque stands on a promontory looking out to the Atlantic Ocean; worshippers can pray over the sea but there is no glass floor looking into the sea. The walls are made of handcrafted marble, and the roof is retractable. A maximum of 105,000 worshippers can gather together for prayer: 25,000 inside the mosque hall and another 80,000 on the mosque's outside ground. The official website of the Hassan II Mosque Foundation states that: "3,300 Moroccan craftsmen of national and international renown contributed to this precious jewel. 854 qualified maâlems out of 1,530 in the field of carpentry, 80 qualified maâlems out of a total of 1,600 assigned to plasterwork, and 100 qualified maâlems out of 170 specializing in zellige."
Mosque data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).