Pakistan’s largest mosque is called Faisal Masjid. This is situated in the national capital city of Islamabad. Faisal mosque was completed in 1986, and this masterpiece was designed by Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay to be designed like a desert Bedouin’s tent. It is located at the north end of Faisal Avenue, at the northernmost end of the city, and at the foot of Margalla Hills, the westernmost foothills of the Himalayas.
The Faisal Mosque is named after the late King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia, who supported and financed this project. Faisal Mosque is a popular monument in the Islamic world. It is famous for both its immense size and architecture. It is located on an elevated area of land against a picturesque backdrop of the Margalla Hills. This enviable location represents the Masjid’s great importance and allows it to be seen from miles around, day and night.
It has a covered area of 54,000 square feet and can accommodate almost 300,000 worshippers—about 100,000 in its main prayer hall, courtyard, and porticoes, and another 200,000 in its adjoining grounds. Each of the mosque’s four minarets is 260 feet high, the tallest minaret in South Asia, and measures 10 x 10 m in circumference.
The minarets borrow their design from Turkish tradition and are thin and pencil-like. The interior of Faisal Masjid prayer hall holds a very large chandelier and its walls are beautifully decorated with mosaics and calligraphy by the famous Pakistani artist Sadequain. Moreover; the mosaic pattern decorates the west wall, and has the Kalmah written in early Kufic script, repeated in the mirror image pattern.
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