The Blue Mosque dominates downtown Beirut, its turquoise dome and four 65-metre minarets visible from across the city. Inaugurated in 2008, it is the largest mosque in Lebanon and an unmistakable landmark on Martyrs' Square.
Modelled loosely on the great Ottoman mosques of Istanbul, the interior is huge, hushed, and carpeted in deep red. Non-Muslim visitors are welcome outside prayer times; women are asked to cover their hair and everyone removes shoes at the door. The contrast with the small, scarred Maronite cathedral immediately next door is one of the most telling sights in Lebanon.