Religious · Regionalism
Michel Pinseau · Casablanca, MA · 1993
Key featuresPrayer hall partly built over the Atlantic, with a sliding roof and a 210 m minaret.
The Hassan II Mosque (Arabic: مسجد الحسن الثاني) is a mosque in Casablanca, Morocco. It is the second largest mosque in Africa and one of the largest mosques in the world. Its minaret is the world's second tallest minaret at 210 metres (689 ft). Completed in 1993, it was designed by Michel Pinseau under the guidance of King Hassan II and built by Moroccan artisans from all over the kingdom. The minaret is 60 stories high, topped by a laser, the light from which is directed towards Mecca. The mosque stands on a promontory looking out to the Atlantic Ocean; worshippers can pray over the sea but there is no glass floor looking into the sea. The walls are made of handcrafted marble, and the roof is retractable. A maximum of 105,000 worshippers can gather together for prayer: 25,000 inside the mosque hall and another 80,000 on the mosque's outside ground.
The building blends Islamic architecture and Moroccan elements, and reflects Moorish influences, while featuring an urban design. It displays elements found in other Moroccan buildings, such as the unfinished mosque in Rabat and the Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakesh.
Shortened from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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