Faisal Mosque
— — a tent of white stone under a Himalayan sky.
Not only on a wall.
“A mosque shaped like a desert tent set down at the base of the Margalla Hills. Four slender minarets, a roof that folds inward instead of arching upward. Islamabad keeps growing toward it; the foothills hold the line behind. At dusk the white stone takes on the colour of the sky and the call to prayer carries across the avenues below.
Faisal Mosque, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
The place, in three passes.
Faisal Mosque sits on a low rise at the northern edge of Islamabad, where the city meets the Margalla foothills of the lesser Himalayas. The complex covers roughly 19 acres. It opened in 1986 after a decade of construction funded by Saudi King Faisal bin Abdulaziz, after whom it is named. Capital Development Authority planning placed it on the axis that closes the city's grand vista north. Islamabad sits at about 540 metres of elevation, on the Pothohar Plateau.
The main prayer hall was designed by Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay, who won an international competition in 1969 with a form drawn from a Bedouin tent rather than a traditional dome. White marble cladding wraps eight triangular concrete shells that meet in a folded canopy. Four minarets, each about 90 metres tall, anchor the corners with proportions closer to Anatolian Seljuk practice than to the South Asian Mughal tradition the city expected.
The mosque is open to non-Muslim visitors outside prayer times, generally between morning and late afternoon, with shoes removed and modest dress required. Women are asked to cover their hair within the main hall. There is no admission fee. The site is reached by car or taxi from central Islamabad in about fifteen minutes; the closest landmark is Shah Faisal Avenue, which runs straight toward the gate. The Pakistan Monument and Daman-e-Koh viewpoint are within a short drive.