The Faisal Mosque is Islamabad's most distinctive monument: a great sweeping white concrete tent at the foot of the Margalla Hills, framed by four 90-metre minarets at the corners. When it opened in 1986 it was the largest mosque in the world by area; it remains one of the largest, with capacity for around a hundred thousand worshippers across the prayer hall and the surrounding courtyard.
The radical design caused decades of argument. Vedat Dalokay's "no dome" concept made it a focus of architectural debate; today it is widely regarded as a masterpiece of modern Islamic architecture. Non-Muslim visitors are welcome outside prayer times — entry is free, shoes off at the gate, modest dress required (the mosque lends abayas to women without them).