Considered to be the epitome of Byzantine architecture, the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey, was originally commissioned as a church by Emperor Justinian I in the 6th century, before it was converted into a mosque following the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453.

Using masonry construction, Hagia Sophia was built using brick and mortar joints with a combination of sand and minute ceramic pieces and a considerable amount of iron for its cramps and ties. The great dome measures at more than 32 metres in diameter, alongside the minarets that were added subsequently by the Ottomans.

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Through the dome’s 40 arched windows, light is reflected into the interior that measures at more than 55 metres from the floor level, where past restorations have attempted to maintain a balance between both Christian and Islamic cultures in the complex structure.

Oil lamp Ottoman chandeliers hovered above the floor made of Proconnesian marble from Marmara Island, and the Thessalian verd antique with patterns likened to the sea.

Four six-winged seraphim angels decorated the pendentives of the dome, while eight wooden and leather medallions with Arabic inscriptions hang above the mihrab–indicating the direction of Mecca, and the minbar where the imam delivers sermons.

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Dating back to the 10th century, the Al-Azhar Mosque holds the distinction of being the first mosque established in Cairo’s Islamic core—a city that eventually earned the nickname “The City of a Thousand Minarets.”

Drawing inspiration from diverse architectural influences, including Abbasid, Coptic and Byzantine styles, the mosque features a stucco exterior, while the intricately carved minarets–such as the octagonal Minaret of Qaytbay with three balconies, and the double finial Minaret of Qansuh al-Ghuri—stand as towering symbols of faith and craftsmanship.

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Within the mosque’s sprawling 63,000 sq ft premise, the marble-paved courtyard is adorned with keel-shaped arches and stucco inscriptions, leading towards the original prayer hall to the southeast of the courtyard, five aisles deep.

Here, the hypostyle hall features wood-beamed ceilings with elaborate stucco arches, showcasing intricate vegetal motifs, circular and star-shaped bands, and verses from the Quran in Kufic script.

Among the mosque’s treasures are its beautifully crafted mihrab: a wooden mihrab with inset carved panels installed in 1125; a Fatimid-era mihrab adorned with prevailing stucco patterns in the conch of the niche; and the mihrab of the Madrasa al-Taybarsiyya made of impost blocks decorated with coloured geometrical designs.

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Built to be privy to the royal court during the reign of Shah Abbas I of Persia in the early 17th century, the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque in Iran—unlike its grand counterpart, the Shah Mosque meant for the public—exudes understated elegance with its smaller size and absence of minarets, a courtyard, and interior iwans (a rectangular vaulted hall or space).

More than making up for what it lacks in grandiosity in intricate design and craftsmanship, the mosque’s façade is adorned with tiles featuring elaborate designs, from the flattened single-shell dome to the L-shaped vestibule constructed to adhere to the direction of qibla. This resulted in the dome offsetting 45 degrees to the south of the entrance gateway—a feature called pāshnah in Persian architecture.

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The marble entrance gateway of half-moon recess features a breathtaking muqarna tilework constructed of haft-rangi or “seven-coloured” tiles: a three-dimensional network of lemon-shaped compartments decreases in size as the design ascends, reminiscent of a peacock with its tail feathers on display.

Inspired by the designs of the Ardabil Carpet and the Azadi Square in Tehran, the complicated tiling design persists in the blue-and-citrus-hued interior. Eight cable-shaped tilework in turquoise frame the kite-shaped pendentives, leading the eye upward to the arabesque-style dome that seems to radiate with luminosity.

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Despite Lahore’s strong Persian influence in architecture, the iconic Badshahi Mosque embraces a distinctively Mughal aesthetic, with an exterior of carved red sandstone and white marble inlay.

Surrounding the three marble domes, three-storey, octagonal minarets made of red sandstone punctuate the skyline with marble canopies, with four additional smaller minarets at each corner of the building.

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Through the two-storey edifice with a towering muqarna dome archetypal of Islamic architecture, the prayer hall—with the central arched niche outlined by five smaller niches—can accommodate up to 10,000 worshippers. 

A visionary continuum from the façade, elaborate floral motifs common to Mughal art adorn every surface indoors, from the intricately carved niches to the ornate panelling that lines the walls—a testament to the enduring legacy of Mughal architecture that considered Badshahi Mosque one of Lahore’s most iconic landmarks.

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The elemental mosque for the fast growing community in the northern expansion of Dhaka was a design by Marina Tabassum that clinched the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2016. 

Completed in 2012 with modest community funds and upon land donated by Tabassum’s grandmother, the 7,200 sq ft mosque features an exposed load-bearing terracotta brick façade that sits on a raised plinth, protecting the site from floodwater and separating it from the rowdy streetscape.

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Inside the structure are three volumes of cylindrical reinforced concrete, inserted within the other to create a sequence of spaces that include the entrance courts, the stairway, the imam’s office, ablution and toilet facilities. 

The innermost cylindrical volume facilitates the rotation of the column-free prayer hall with open brickwork at the four corners and the perforated ceiling allowing natural light and ventilation into the space.

Besides illuminating the interior of the mosque, the natural light also serves the crucial functional purpose of identifying the axis of qibla through a vertical slit in the cylindrical brick wall, creating a subtle yet powerful visual cue for worshippers. 

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Spanning a mere 100 sqm, the petite yet profound mosque located next to the century-old Moukhtara Palace is a renovation of an existing cross-vaulted masonry space spearheaded by the Brooklyn- and Beirut-based architectural firm L.E.FT Architects.

A refreshing departure from traditional architectural norms, its slender minaret crafted from thinly sliced steel plates is angled towards Mecca, upon which the name of God is folded biaxially in structural calligraphy rather than a traditional ornamental applique; from one side, it is read in an affirmative solid form, while on the other, as a void, emanating the immaterial and ineffable idea of God.

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Meanwhile, at the entrance to the mosque next to a fig tree, the steel plates convey the complementary word insan (human), a symbolic reminder of humanity within the divine narrative.

The interior is a minimal space with white walls fashioned from a unique lime mix from Aleppo, Syria. Whereas above, an undulating skylight cuts the vaulted space with a slither of light, registering the direction of qibla, while filling the concave mihrab of polished stainless steel wall with natural light.

The wooden wall towards the back of the mosque is relieved with the word iqra’ (read), inviting contemplation and engagement with the sacred texts of the Quran.

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Honoured with the 2021 Architecture Master Prize in the cultural category, the Mosque of the Late Mohamed Abdulkhaliq Gargash in Dubai’s Al Quoz community was designed by Sumaya Dabbagh of Dabbagh Architects–one of the first female architects in the UAE to design a place of worship.

The minimal contemporary mosque features an exterior panelling with a triangulated pattern in recessed and perforated elements, reminiscent of traditional Islamic geometry.

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The scattered punctures allow for natural light into the series of enriching spaces, as they guide worshippers through a transitional journey from the busy outer world into the courtyard, where they can quieten the mind and find an inner calm for full immersion into prayer.

A surah verse from the Quran wraps around the soft, naturally-lit prayer hall; a metaphoric protective band signalling the spiritual nature of the space upon arrival and instilling sacred energy throughout the building.

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Drawing inspiration from the muqarna, and the classical Mamluki-era mosques, the Mamluki Lancet Mosque in Al-Masayel by Babnimnim Design Studio is a harmonious integration between the traditional and the modern, the spiritual and the functional.

Comprising five distinct masses, each represents the five daily prayers. The lower mass is oriented toward qibla, while upon the site-aligned upper mass sits the central half dome adorned with the Islamic Star that symbolises unity and connection to the divine.

The funnel-like minaret aligns with the mihrab inside the prayer hall, whereas the three intervening masses create an unobstructed interior devoid of columns, facilitating unhindered alignment for prayers indoors.

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The exterior, with a grand wooden door and lancet, arched windows and doorways, transitions into an interior where the interplay of natural light filters through the rotating masses, creating a serene ambience with grey stone cladding and white clay plastering peppered with subtle brass accents.

Thuluth-style Quranic calligraphy reliefs by Arabic calligrapher Jassim Alnasrallah adorn the walls and partitions; the latter adaptable sliding doors that separate the women’s prayer area from the main prayer hall, which during the fasting month of Ramadan is opened to expand the indoor space in support of larger congregations while maintaining a sense of inclusivity and unity.

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