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Many Iranians come every day to Damascus to visit the Imam Hussein Shrine located inside the Umayid Mosque in Damascus Old City. This is a plaza near the Mosque, at the end of Suq Al Hamidia.
The Kampong Kling Mosque in Melaka is one of Malaysia's oldest mosques, built in 1748. It is built in many different styles, like the minaret resembling a Chinese pagoda and the prayer hall in an Indonesian style.
The Tzistarakis Mosque (or Kato Sintrivaniou), located in Monastiraki Square, was built in 1759 by the Turkish military governor Moustafa Agas (or Tzistarakis). Since 1981 it has housed the Museum of Traditional Ceramics.
I don't know if it's the world's smallest, but it's certainly the world's most adorable free-standing mosque. It's in Beb on the road between Mbogwem (chez moi) and Mboliv (chez mon homologue).
I went on a photo safari in Dallas the other day, since I'm on holiday for Christmas. I just drove and turned here and there looking for things to photograph. I felt I hit a gold mine when I stumbled into this area. I found decrepit, but photogenic buildings on this street. With good weather, I was having a good day!
Interestingly, I could not see the mosque dome on Google Maps. Wondering how it could look old, but not be on the satellite photos, I did some digging today and discovered that this is actually a film set.
It seems that Hollywood decided to make a film out of the Pentagon's pseudo-propaganda campaign about Jessica Lynch, the famous 2003 American captured by Iraqis. (Jessica herself says her story is way overblown.) So, what better than a run-down area of Dallas, a little sandy texture, an aged mosque dome added, and some fresh coats of paint, and voilà, you have a city in southern Iraq!
This explains the whole, rather eerie scene- the appearance of recent activity, but none at all now. There was Arabic scribbled on some walls, the run-down look, but yet mosque building in Dallas is relatively new, and is usually in the north, not the south side of the city. And it's litter free (again meaning no activity). I even thought it looked like a post-apocalyptic city abandoned after a war. Turns out I was fairly close on that one.
The Floating Mosque (Melaka Mosque) in the town and state of Melaka (Malacca...Europeanized spelling) in Malaysia.
Hagia Sophia is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica (church), later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. From the date of its dedication in 360 AD until 1453 AD, it served as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral and seat of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, except between 1204 and 1261, when it was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral under the Latin Empire. The building was a mosque from 29 May 1453 until 1931, when it was secularized. For almost 500 years the principal mosque of Istanbul, Hagia Sophia served as a model for many other Ottoman mosques, such as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque).
Everyone takes this picture of Jumeirah Grand Mosque, reflected in the windows of The One furniture shop opposite. You can tour the Mosque on a Thursday or Saturday, but the exterior is more beautiful.
The mosque that is just to the west of the Taj Mahal. There is a mirror image of this mosque to the East of the Taj Mahal. This second building faces the wrong way to be used as a mosque. It is there soley to preserve the symmetry.
Agra, India, February 2006
Tenuous Link: Christian --> Muslim
The Şehzade Mosque (Turkish: 'Şehzade Camii') is an Ottoman imperial mosque located in the district of Fatih, on the third hill of Istanbul, Turkey. It is sometimes referred to as the “Prince's Mosque” in English. The Şehzade Mosque was commissioned by Sultan Suleiman I in memory of his eldest son, Prince Mehmet, who died of smallpox at the age of 21 in 1543, though the cause for his death is disputed. It was the first major commission by the Imperial Architect Mimar Sinan, and was completed in 1548. It is considered by architectural historians as Sinan's first masterpiece of classical Ottoman architecture.
People escaping the heat and relaxing in Al Omayead mosque, Damascus Old City, Damascus, Syria, 2010
Masirah to Muscat road trip, but decided to take in a few sights on the way.
Final stop and the impressive Mosque in the town of Fanja.
Sehzade Mosque was, for me, the nicest mosque in Istanbul, especially from a photographic point of view. Hagia Sophia and Sultan Ahmet Mosque are the two most-famous mosques in town and, as such, almost always packed with visitors. Plenty of others (Suleymaniye Mosque, for example) are quite beautiful and worth a visit, but also can be crowded. Beyazit Mosque was very nice, and not crowded at all. Lastly (for this trip), Sehzade Mosque was also practically empty -- fewer than 10 people besides me -- and with its symmetry, it's photographically delightful.
The history of this mosque, though, is somewhat sad. Like many other mosques in Istanbul, it's from the 16th century. In particular, this one was built from 1543-48. What happened in 1543 to create this mosque?
The sultan at the time, Suleyman the Magnificent, had a favorite son named Sehzade Mehmed. This wasn't his oldest son, but Sehzade was his oldest son by his legal wife, which put him in line to be the next sultan.
Sehzade was born in 1521. He was a warrior, and fought as far away as Hungary. In late 1543, while returning from a successful military campaign in Hungary, Sehzade died unexpectedly (consensus opinion is that he died of smallpox).
A distraught Suleyman had this mosque built to honor his son, and employed imperial architect Mimar Sinan to design and build it.
The general plan is similar to nearby Beyazit Mosque in that there's a courtyard/forecourt that is enclosed and roughly the same size as the mosque itself. This mosque, too, has a large central dome, but it's flanked by four half domes. The half domes are what enhance the symmetry and photographic lines on the interior.
There are five tombs behind this mosque (that I did not have a chance to see), one of which contains the grave of Sehzade Mehmed.
This mosque is about halfway between Fatih Mosque and Beyazit Mosque, and Suleymane Mosque is also a short walk away, but not on the same line.
Though I've obviously seen this mosque, I would probably make a point to see it again on a return visit to Istanbul. It's beautiful.