The Faisal Mosque is a mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan. It is located on the foothills of Margalla Hills in Islamabad. This mosque features a contemporary design consisting of eight sides of concrete shell and is inspired by a Bedouin tent.
This mosque is a major tourist attraction in Pakistan, Islamabad in particular, and is referred as a contemporary and influential feature of Islamic architecture.
Construction of the mosque began in 1976 after a $120 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 feet tall minarets. The design features eight-sided shell shaped sloping roofs forming a triangular worship hall which can hold 10,000 worshippers.
Combined the structure covers an area of
54,000 square 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. The largest mosque in Pakistan, the Faisal Mosque was the largest
mosque in the world from 1986 until 1993, when it was overtaken by mosques
in MENA region of Saudi Arabia. Faisal Mosque is now the fourth
largest mosque in terms of capacity. The Faisal Mosque can accommodate about
300,000 worshippers. Each of the Mosque's four minarets is 79 m high and
measure 10×10 meter’s in circumference.
