Hassan II Mosque - Casablanca 5.94

The Hassan II Mosque or Grande Mosquée Hassan II is a mosque in Casablanca, Morocco. It is the largest mosque in Morocco and the 13th largest in the world. Its minaret is the world's tallest at 210m. Completed in 1993, it was designed by Michel Pinseau and built by Bouygues. 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 of hand-crafted 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 grounds.GeographyThe mosque is located at Bd Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdallah in Casablanca. The 9ha complex nestles between the harbor and the El Hank lighthouse. From the nearest train station at it is about a 20-minute walk to the mosque. The ten-lane boulevard with shopping avenues has its terminus at the southern facade of the mosque and extends to the gates of the Palace Oued el Makhazine in the middle of the city. The basilical plan of the mosque justifies this layout of the boulevard.