Hassan II Mosque

The Hassan II Mosque stands on the Atlantic shore of Casablanca, Morocco's largest city. King Hassan II commissioned it, the French architect Michel Pinseau designed it, and the construction company Bouygues built it between July 1986 and its inauguration on 30 August 1993.

Part of the mosque rests on a platform built out over the sea from a rocky outcrop, protected by breakwaters. The project cost an estimated 585 million euros, much of it raised through public donations. Salt water later corroded the reinforced concrete, and restoration work costing around 50 million euros began in 2005.

The minaret rises 210 metres and is described as the second tallest in the world. At night a laser at its tip points toward Mecca. The prayer hall holds about 25,000 worshippers, and the courtyards and esplanade around it take around 80,000 more. Its roof, weighing about 1,100 tonnes, can slide open in about five minutes. Materials came from across Morocco, including cedar from the Middle Atlas, marble and granite, and thousands of Moroccan craftsmen worked on the zellij tilework, carved plaster and painted woodwork.

Below the prayer hall are large ablution rooms and a hammam, and the complex also includes a library and a museum. The mosque is one of the largest in Africa.

Non-Muslim visitors can see the interior on guided tours run several times a day outside prayer times, with tickets sold at the entrance. Dress modestly, with shoulders and knees covered, and remove shoes inside. The outdoor esplanade is open to everyone and is a popular place to walk at sunset.

The whole complex covers 9 hectares between Casablanca harbour and the El Hank lighthouse. The prayer hall is a rectangle of about 200 by 100 metres with three naves; the central nave rises 40 metres and the side naves 27 metres. Mezzanine galleries with carved dark wood screens run along both sides for women, and the hall floor is heated.

Craft materials came from named regions: cedar from the Middle Atlas, marble from Agadir and granite from Tafraoute, with Italian white granite on some columns, glass chandeliers and titanium and bronze on the exterior. A two-storey semicircular madrasa of about 4,840 square metres sits against the qibla wall.

Tickets for the guided tour are sold at the mosque. The official price list sets 140 dirhams for foreign adults, 70 dirhams for Moroccans, residents and foreign students, 30 dirhams for children over six and free entry for under-sixes. Tours leave at 8, 9, 10 and 11 am and 2 pm from Saturday to Thursday, and at 8, 9 and 10 am and 2 pm on Fridays. The museum, which shows unused stucco, carved ceilings and zellij panels made for the building, costs 30 dirhams for foreign adults and opens from 9 am to 4 pm.