The Faisal Mosque (Urdu: فیصل مسجد) is the largest mosque in Pakistan, located in the national capital city of Islamabad. Completed in 1986, it was designed by Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay, shaped like a desert Bedouin's tent, is an iconic symbol of Islamabad throughout the world.
It is situated at the north end of Faisal Avenue, putting it at the northernmost end of the city and at the foot of Margalla Hills, the westernmost foothills of the Himalayas. It is located on an elevated area of land against a picturesque backdrop of the Margalla Hills. This enviable location represents the mosque's great importance and allows it to be seen from miles around day and night.
The Faisal Mosque was conceived as the National Mosque of Pakistan and named after the late King Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz of Saudi Arabia, who supported and financed the project.[2]
The largest mosque in South Asia, the Faisal Mosque was the largest mosque in the world from 1986 until 1993, when it was overtaken in size by the newly completed Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco. Subsequent expansions of the Masjid al-Haram (Grand Mosque) of Mecca and the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (Prophet's Mosque) in Medina, Saudi Arabia, during the 1990s relegated Faisal Mosque to fourth place in terms of size.
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The Tomb of Jam Nido at Makli Hills, Thatta
This is the tomb of Jam Nido, a Summa ruler who reigned from 1461-1508.
One of the largest necropolises in the world, with a diameter of approximately 8 kilometers, Makli Hill is supposed to be the burial place of some 125,000 Sufi saints. It is located on the outskirts of Thatta, the capital of lower Sind until the seventeenth century, in what is the southeastern province of present-day Pakistan. [1]
Legends abound about its inception, but it is generally believed that the cemetery grew around the shrine of the fourteenth-century Sufi, Hamad Jamali. The tombs and gravestones spread over the cemetery are material documents marking the social and political history of Sind.
Arambagh Mosque, Karachi
There has been abundance of water in the Aram Bagh area of Karachi since ancient times and many wells were dug here to supply water to the residents that settled around it. According to Hindu myth, the Hindu avatars Ram, Sita and Lakshmanstayed at this location on their way to Hinglaj pilgrimage. Karachi was called Ramya in some Greek texts.[2] In 1857, during the war of liberation against the British colonialism the freedom fighters were blasted by canons by the British forces in Aram Bagh. A park was built was built on this location in 1939 and was named Ram Bagh i.e. Garden of Ram. After theindependence of Pakistan in 1947, thousands of Muslim refugees from India fleeing from anti-Muslim pograms set up camps in it and the name was changed to Aram Bagh i.e. Garden of relaxation to mark the end of their arduous journey toPakistan. A beautiful Aram Bagh Masjid was built in Aram Bagh by the Muslims refugees that settled around the Aram Bagh after the independence of Pakistan.[3]
There has been abundance of water in the Aram Bagh area of Karachi since ancient times and many wells were dug here to supply water to the residents that settled around it. According to Hindu myth, the Hindu avatars Ram, Sita and Lakshmanstayed at this location on their way to Hinglaj pilgrimage. Karachi was called Ramya in some Greek texts.[2] In 1857, during the war of liberation against the British colonialism the freedom fighters were blasted by canons by the British forces in Aram Bagh. A park was built was built on this location in 1939 and was named Ram Bagh i.e. Garden of Ram. After theindependence of Pakistan in 1947, thousands of Muslim refugees from India fleeing from anti-Muslim pograms set up camps in it and the name was changed to Aram Bagh i.e. Garden of relaxation to mark the end of their arduous journey toPakistan. A beautiful Aram Bagh Masjid was built in Aram Bagh by the Muslims refugees that settled around the Aram Bagh after the independence of Pakistan.[3]
