วันพุธที่ 5 กันยายน พ.ศ. 2555

Top 10 heavyweight mosques


10 Sultan Ahmet Mosque

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       Our journey to find the most awe inducing mosques begins in Turkey. Istanbul is a fascinating city for so many reasons, serving as the capital of so many empires. It was during the Ottoman Empire, that Sultan Ahmet I decided to build an imperial mosque over the site of the bygone hippodrome which was the social center of Constantinople (Istanbul), the capital of the Byzantine Empire.



9 Istiqlal Mosque

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       Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world, so if it’s any country that deserves a national mosque, it’s Indonesia. In 1978 this idea became a reality as the Istiqlal Mosque was inaugurated by President Suharto. Istiqlal means independence in Arabic and the mosque was named so as it served the purpose of celebrating and commemorating Indonesia’s independence from their colonial rulers.



8 Badshahi Mosque

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          Aurangazeb was the last great Mughal emperor and he didn’t want to be left behind when it came to constructing glorious Mughal architecture. His father, Emperor Shah Jahan, had built the Taj Mahal which is a mausoleum but not a mosque. Modeled after the Jama Masjid, a mosque his father had built in Delhi, Aurangazeb built an even bigger and more impressive mosque in Lahore.



7 The Faisal Mosque

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        Staying in Pakistan, we come to number 6 on our list. The Faisal Mosque lies at the northernmost end of Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital. The base of the Margalla Hills, the westernmost foothills of the Himalayas provide a beautiful backdrop to this tabernacle. The Mosque was named in the honor of King Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz who funded the project and is widely accepted as the national mosque of Pakistan.



6 Jame Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque

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         If you travel to Brunei anytime soon, you will be bereft of any true essence of this monarchy without educating yourself about its two famous mosques. Or better still, experience them. The Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque was built by the Sultan of Brunei in 1958. It’s constitutes the focal point of Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei. The mosque featured in this list wishes it had the enviable locality of the Omar Ali Saifuddin mosque but it gets the nod over its older counterpart because of its superior luxuriancy, appearance and size.



5 The Imam Mosque

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       Shah Abbas I is hailed as the greatest ruler of the Safavid dynasty. It was during his era that the capital of the Persian Empire was relocated to Isfahan. The glorious Naqsh-e Jahan Square was constructed and the square’s southern façade today has arguably the best view, as it accommodates the portal of the Imam Mosque.



4 Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque

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         Dubai has been known for some time as a megacity filled with marvelous skyscrapers rivaling the most riveting skylines out there in the world. More impressive is the amount of time the city was conjured up in. Or from where it was forged, which was basically barren desert land.



3 Hassan II Mosque

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        Our no.3 item of the list brings us to the port city of Casablanca, Morocco. King Hassan II of Morocco wished to endow a praiseworthy monument to his people and so with the huge cost of $800 million, this grandeur piece of Moorish influenced architecture was completed in 1993.




2 Al-Masjid al-Nabawi

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         Approaching the last two mosques in the list, sanctity has become the major point of contention in the selection criterion. At no.2, I give you Al- Masjid al-Nabawi (The prophet’s mosque), the final resting place of Muhammad.



1 Al-Masjid al-Harām

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        Located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia; Al-Masjid al-Harām is the biggest and holiest mosque in the world. The fact that it hosts the Kabba in its courtyard, the most sacred site in Islam, is reason enough to place it at the top of our list.

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