MOROCCO: CASABLANCA GRAND MOSQUE OF HASSAN II

The last venue we visited in Casablanca was the Grand Mosque of Hassan II.  It was completed in 1993 and is spectacular.  One of the world's largest mosques, it features a minaret nearly 700 feet tall and a prayer hall that can hold up to 25,000 worshipers, with an exterior pavilion that can hold another 75,000.  It doesn't have a dome, like many of the mosques in Istanbul, but its roof is retractable. 

It is difficult to convey the enormous size of the mosque.

An exterior shot that I wanted to keep symmetrical.

Another symmetrical exterior shot.

One of the "corridors," leading to a complicated back entrance backlit by the sunlight.

The main prayer hall.

I zeroed in on a similar entrance, reducing the exposure so that the windows still appeared white while the walls showed in black. Having a couple of visitors in silhouette helped to provide perspective for the scale of the scene.

Another view of the prayer hall.

Detail shot.

Ablution hall on lower level.

Another view of ablution hall.

JOHN