Mosques

[Janana]

The Midnight Sun Mosque - Inuvik, Canada
The cold, inky-black darkness lasts 30 days. Outside, the mercury is struggling to get above minus 32C. Inside the crowded nine-by-14-foot trailer, a few of the faithful gather for Dhuhr prayers, facing south and east, towards the Ka'abah. Virtually everything and everywhere is south of here, high above the Arctic Circle.
In winter, it can get as cold as minus 50C, cold enough to freeze unexposed skin in less than five minutes and make your nostrils tingle and lungs hurt at the sharp, raw air.
In summer, the Sun never sets for 55 days straight, making it difficult to determine time for Fajr and Maghrib prayers.
Welcome to Inuvik, in Canada's Northwest Territories (NWT), home to 3,200 residents, 100 or so of whom are Muslims.
This trailer-cum-mosque has been in use for the past decade but it is finally being replaced by a new one which arrived last month, shipped overland from Winnipeg, Manitoba, 4,000 kilometres away to the south. Inuvik is the closest town to the North Pole, just 2,400 kilometres away.
It is the northern-most mosque in the world.

*Text credit to Gulf News: A mosque above Canada's Arctic Circle

[Janana]

This one, faye?

[Janana]

Adana, Turkey

Islalmic Center of America

Sheikh Zayed Masjid - Abu Dhabi


Cordoba Mosque, Spain


Masjid Selat Melaka, Malaysia


Khost Mosque, Afghanistan


Bibi Heybat Mosque, Azerbaijan

Brazil mosque


Glasgow Central Mosque


Jameh Mosque, Iran


Bulgan mosque, Mongolia


Shakhi Zindeh Mosque, Uzbekistan

[faye]

thanks janana. that is the picture i have found on the net but i thought the mosque had more spires. i have just tried tracing my own pictures that i took from my hotel balcony but no luck. i loved seeing it in the evening when the lights were on and hear the calls to prayer.

[Janana]

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Oman

Hassan Pasha Mosque, Greece

[Janana]

Born in Iran and raised in Australia, Fari Hatam is an embodiment of that which is both traditional and contemporary. His education was a blend of Western theory but his focus was on how the main components of Islamic architecture could be transformed into a contemporary context. It was only after he sought in vain to find successful examples of the latter did Hatam find his calling.
“I started looking around the Middle East and I realised that no one is doing anything that is both contemporary and Islamic—at least not at this level,” explains Hatam. “Islamabad [Pakistan] has had an attempt at it; Hagia Sophia and some of the other examples in Istanbul are also very intriguing. But that was it. It was then that I became fascinated with how to properly design a mosque.”
Drawing inspiration from the myriad bridges, mosques and plazas of his birthplace, Esfahan, Iran, Hatam’s Dubai Mosque captures the essence of the dualist language of what can be called a Contemporary Islamic style. More than an architectural showcase, even today, Esfahan can provide important tutelage to newer cities—namely Dubai and Abu Dhabi—trying to preserve their indigenous history and culture amidst rapid modernisation and an amalgam of architectural styles.

*Text and photo credit to: The Man Behind the Mosque

[Janana]

These are some great virtual walking tours available to view on Saudi Aramco World's site. Great photography and a layout that lets you explore different areas and rooms.

Virtual Walking Tour: The Alhambra

Virtual Walking Tour: Suleymaniye Mosque

Virtual Walking Tour: Dome of the Rock & Al Aqsa Mosque

[faye]

that one doesn't do it for me. the one in iran, with all the inlay was divine. so much work with the tiles, patterns and colours.
the little imported one is cute. they must be very happy to have it there.

[Haris]

Central London Mosque (United Kingdom)

[Haris]

Masjid Qubbat As-Sakhrah (Occupied Palestine)

[Janana]

Great pics Haris, I really love that mosaic in the second picture.

[faye]

omg, that is really something and that is the one some of the jews want to demolish, phew!!!

[Janana]

The Great Mosque of Damascus has some of the most beautiful and oldest mosaics.

[faye]

first i was thinking that was a painting of the trees there. so it is mosaics? very nice.

[Haris]

Bibi-Khanym Mosque, (Samarkand, Uzbekistan)





























Image was too large so here is the link instead

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EHRmj3x1gY0/TOmALwZ7X3I/AAAAAAAABoo/wxIOZbbVWSU/s1600/IMG_8533.jpg

The mosque before reconstruction (1969):