| | | مسجد الحسن الثاني
Casablanca (Morocco)
| | | | The Hassan II Mosque (Arabic: مسجد الحسن الثاني), located in Casablanca is the largest mosque in Morocco and the fifth largest mosque in the world after the Masjid al-Haram (Grand Mosque) of Mecca and the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (Prophet's Mosque) in Medina. | | Hassan II Mosque : Virtual tour |  | 7 sections and 12 items |
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Hassan II Mosque : Guide (1)
Hassan II Mosque : Outdoor Architecture (1)
Hassan II Mosque : Place(s) of worship (5)
|  | Ablution Room
between 1986 and 1993
Even ablution is a breathtaking experience at Hassan II Mosque, with over forty fountains flowing fresh water for cleansing.
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|  | Grounds of Hassan II Mosque
between 1986 and 1993
Around 80,000 worshippers can be accommodated in the mosque's adjoining grounds for a total of 105,000 worshippers present at any given time at the Hassan II mosque.
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|  | Hassan II Mosque's minaret (2)
between 1986 and 1993
At 689 feet, the Great Mosque's minaret is the tallest structure in Morocco and the tallest minaret in the world.
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|  | Outside architecture (2)
between 1986 and 1993
All of the granite, plaster, marble, wood, and other materials used in its construction were taken from around Morocco, with the sole exceptions of some white granite columns and the glass chandeliers, both of which come from Italy.
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|  | Prayer Hall of Hassan II Mosque (6)
between 1986 and 1993
The style of the Hassan II Mosque displays strong Moorish influences, bringing to mind the Alhambra and Mezquita in Spain.
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| | Hassan II Mosque : Hours | |
Nocturne sunday
Daily visits :
09h00
10h00
11h00
14h00
On Friday, visit with appointments,
Admissions :
- children less 12 years old : 30 Dh
- students and foreigners living in Morocco : 60,00 Dh
- adults: 120,00 Dh
- private visit (less than 20 persons) : 2200,00 Dh
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| | Hassan II Mosque : Description | |
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Designed by the French architect Michel Pinseau and built by Bouygues. It stands on a promontory looking out to the Atlantic, which can be seen through a gigantic glass floor with room for 25,000 worshippers. A further 80,000 can be accommodated in the mosque's adjoining grounds for a total of 105,000 worshippers present at any given time at the Hassan II mosque. Its minaret is the world's tallest at 210 m (689 ft).
Characteristics
Built on reclaimed land, almost half of the surface of the mosque lies over the Atlantic water. This was inspired by the verse of the Qur'an that states "the throne of Allah was built on water." While some say part of this floor is glass and overlooks the sea, this is not the case; above, spotlights shine at night from the top of the minaret toward Mecca. These features were specifically requested by King Hassan II, who declared, "I want to build this mosque on the water, because God's throne is on the water. Therefore, the faithful who go there to pray, to praise the Creator on firm soil, can contemplate God's sky and ocean."
It also includes a number of modern touches: it was built to withstand earthquakes and has a heated floor, electric doors, and a sliding roof.
The mosque displays strong Moorish influence and the architecture of the building is similar to that of the Alhambra and the Great Mosque of Cordoba in Spain. This and the old Tin Mal Mosque are the only mosques in Morocco open to non-Muslims. Non-Muslims may view the interior on hour-long guided tours that depart several times daily.
From Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassan_II_Mosque
Text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License | | Hassan II Mosque : History | |
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Work on the mosque was commenced on 12 July 1986, and was intended to be completed for the 60th birthday of the former Moroccan king, Hassan II, in 1989. However, the building was not inaugurated until 30 August 1993. It took 2,500 construction workers and 10,000 artists and craftsman to build the mosque.
All of the granite, plaster, marble, wood, and other materials used in its construction were taken from around Morocco, with the sole exceptions of some white granite columns and the glass chandeliers, both of which come from Italy. Six thousand traditional Moroccan artisans worked for five years to turn these raw materials into abundant and incredibly beautiful mosaics, stone and marble floors and columns, sculpted plaster moldings, and carved and painted wood ceilings.
The Hassan II Mosque is part of the tradition of religious monuments, in the phases of their history, in the quest of the architectural art it consecrates by bringing it to the heights of fame, by renewing it, by adapting it to the means that enable it to get free from the impact and stamp of the cities of another age. The first monumental mosques date back to the Omeyyade era. Abd al-MaIik ordered the construction between 688 and 692 of the Dome of the Rock (Qubbat as-Sakhra), which is, along with Masjid al-Aqsâ, one of the most famous Islamic monuments. It opens the way to great architectural achievements Of an Islam, deeply urban but continental. The reconstruction of The Grand Mosque of Madinah between 705 and 710, and the founding, between 706 and 715 of the Grand Mosque of Damascus are attributed to his son al-Walid.
The Grand Mosque of Damascus, whose transverse naves are separated by lines of two-level arches parallel to the qibla wall and crossed in their middle by a central nave, is the prototype of the mosques of the Muslim west.
This layout characterizes the pattern called "medinian". It will gain widespread acceptance and will even bring its impact to the Qarawiyyîne Mosque of Fez. In the Muslim west, the Grand Mosque of Kairouan is considered as the ancestor of all the mosques in the Maghreb. The Kairouan mosque, founded by "Oqba ben Nâfi", demolished and then reconstructed at the end of the VIIth century, was enlarged in the second half of the VIIIth century by Caliph Hicham, then refurbished by Ziyâdat Allah before going through a last extension during the IXth century.
The layout of the naves directed in depth, perpendicular to the qibla wall, a layout called 'basilical' and already adopted by the al-Aqsâ Mosque, will be reproduced and perpetuated in the mosques of IFriqiya, Spain and Other parts of the Maghreb. The second monumental mosque of the Muslim West is the Grand Mosque of Cordoba, the dean of the mosques of Spain. Edified by 'Abd al-Rahmân I in 785-786, it was enlarged successively by Abd al-Rahmân II in 833, by al-Hakam in 961 and finally by al-Mansour in 987. This building that its founder, who was keen on reproducing in Andalusia the splendor of the Omeyyad Caliphate, wanted to construct on the pattern Of the Grand Mosque of Damascus, is, more than the Kairouan mosque, the prototype of all the Arab-Andalusian monumental mosques, mainly those of Saragossa and Toledo. Besides, it provide a catalogue of the ornamental designs that the art of the following centuries will reproduce in Morocco.
It was in the IXth century, and more precisely in 859, that the two Moroccan monumental mosques were constructed : The qarawiyyîne Mosque and the Andalous Mosque. The Qarawiyyîne Mosque, wich has since the start outshone its sister mosque, witnessed several extensions in 956 and 1135 under the reign of the Almoravids. Its transverse naves layouts breaks with the layout of other Almoravid shrines in the Maghreb: The Grand Mosque of Tlemcen (1136) and the Grand Mosque of Algiers (1096) for example. | | Hassan II Mosque : More pictures | |
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