The Hassan II mosque, situated partly on a reclaimed land along the coast, is one of the largest mosques in the world, located in Casablanca (Morocco). This flamboyant building was built at enormous expense to commemorate the former king's 60th birthday. Built partly on the sea, it is a religious and cultural complex, on nine hectares and includes a prayer room, ablution room, baths, a Koranic school (madrasa), a library and a museum.
It is the largest mosque in Morocco and fifth largest in the world.
It has the highest minaret in the world which is 210 meters high. At night, lasers shine a beam from the top of the minaret toward Mecca.
The mosque at night, looking from the Atlantic Ocean, creates the impression of a swan on the sea.
It is a unique pleasure to watch the ocean waves through the embroidery of the door which is located at ocean side of the mosque and to listen to the sound of the waves.
Visitors feel themselves as if they are on the sea due to some of the walls of the mosque being made of glass.
The size and elaborate decoration of the prayer hall is very spectacular. The prayer hall can accommodate 25,000 faithful with a total area of 20,000 m2. And the esplanade 80 000 faithful (the complete building can accommodate 105 000 people totally).
The prayer hall is surmounted by a mobile roof, covering an area of 3,400 m2 and 1,100 t that can move by a motorized rolling system. When the roof is closed, the prayer hall is illuminated by 50 chandeliers and 8 Venetian sconces from Murano. The largest one is six meters in diameter, ten meters high and weighs 1200 kg.
The gates were made from brass and titanium.
The ablution fountains in the basement, which are shaped like huge lotus flowers, were carved from marble.
HASSAN II Mosque is definitely “a must see place” in Morocco.
The financing of this work was partially financed by King Hasan II, and the remaining part was completed with donations from the public.
This complex building was designed by French architect Michel Pinseau, took six years to build and was completed in 1993.
ÖZDEN ATUKEREN
Yeni Asya English