Architecture
Hagia Sophia
Istanbul, Turkey
Its enormous central dome, finished under Emperor Justinian, was a landmark of engineering. The building has served as a cathedral, a mosque and a museum.
Built: 537 CE · Style: Byzantine
Great mosques
Domes, minarets and courtyards from Istanbul to Mali, each built with local materials and styles.
The places
Architecture
Sultan Ahmed (Blue) Mosque
Istanbul, Turkey
Named for the blue İznik tiles that line its interior, it has six minarets and a cascade of domes and half-domes.
Built: 1609–1616 · Style: Ottoman
Architecture
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
A white marble mosque with 82 domes, a vast hand-knotted carpet and reflecting pools. It welcomes visitors of all backgrounds outside prayer times.
Opened: 2007 · Style: Contemporary Islamic
Architecture
Hassan II Mosque
Casablanca, Morocco
Built partly over the Atlantic Ocean, it has one of the tallest minarets in the world and a hall that can hold about 25,000 worshippers.
Completed: 1993 · Style: Moroccan-Moorish
Architecture
Great Mosque of Kairouan
Kairouan, Tunisia
One of the oldest places of worship in the Islamic West, with a square minaret and a forest of ancient columns reused from earlier buildings.
Founded: 670 · Style: Early Islamic
Architecture
Great Mosque of Djenné
Djenné, Mali
The largest mud-brick building in the world is re-plastered each year by the whole community in an annual festival.
Rebuilt: 1907 · Style: Sudano-Sahelian mud brick